US Department of Labor recovers $77K for 5 employees denied prevailing wages at federally funded construction project in Massachusetts

BOSTON – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $77,206 in back wages for five workers employed on a federally funded construction project after finding one subcontractor failed to pay prevailing wages and fringe benefits and another submitted falsified payroll records.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that two Massachusetts contractors – Claras Construction Inc. and Westview Building Company Inc. – violated the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts while working on a project for the Brookline Housing Authority in 2023. Prime contractor Daniel O’Connell’s Sons Inc. of Holyoke subcontracted to Westview Building Company which, in turn, subcontracted with Claras Construction for framing work.

The department discovered Claras Construction of Malden did not pay the required prevailing wage rate and fringe benefits to its workers and failed to create and maintain accurate payroll records. The department also determined Westview Building Company of Canton falsified certified payroll records for Claras Construction to avoid paying the prevailing wage and fringe benefits.

The division recovered $77,206 in back wages from the prime contractor, Daniel O’Connell’s Sons, which was responsible for ensuring its subcontractors complied with the DBRA’s contract clauses. In addition, the department has barred Claras and Westview from working on future federally funded construction projects for three years.

“The Wage and Hour Division has zero tolerance for federal contractors that falsify payroll records and ignore their responsibilities to pay prevailing wages and fringe benefits to workers on federally funded projects. When employers like Westview Building Company and Claras Construction violate the law, the consequences can be serious and costly, including forfeiting their ability to bid on, or benefit from, federal construction contracts for three years,” said Wage and Hour District Director Carlos Matos in Boston. 

Daniel O’Connell’s Sons Inc. is a construction management company that has operated in New England since 1879. About 200 people are employed at its five regional offices in Holyoke and Milford, Massachusetts; New Haven, Connecticut; Kingston, New York; and Aventura, Florida.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division and how to file an online complaint. Workers can call the division confidentially with questions – regardless of immigration status – and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices — available in English and Spanish — to ensure hours and pay are accurate.