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* Press release…
Heading into the Labor Day holiday, Attorney General Kwame Raoul yesterday filed a lawsuit against a Bridgeview, Illinois-based construction company over an elaborate scheme to keep its employees off payroll and avoid paying tax withholdings required by law. The Attorney General’s office filed the lawsuit against Drive Construction Inc., its principal officers, and a complex web of entities and individuals for a years-long conspiracy to pay millions of dollars of wages in cash, and skirt laws intended to protect Illinois workers and ensure fair wages.
Drive Construction (Drive), which specializes in carpentry, plumbing and masonry, obtains public works projects worth several millions of dollars each year. Raoul’s lawsuit alleges Drive misclassified workers to avoid paying employees fair rates of pay for the hours they worked and to skirt its obligations to pay unemployment insurance contributions to the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Raoul alleges Drive violated Illinois’ Minimum Wage Law, the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act and the Illinois Employee Classification Act. […]
Raoul’s lawsuit follows an investigation based on information provided by the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, which has a collective bargaining agreement with Drive.
“The Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council worked closely with Attorney General Raoul’s office to shed light on this prime example of wage theft perpetrated against exploited workers,” said Gary Perinar, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council. “The Carpenters Union aggressively pursues wage theft cases because they hurt working families, they hurt Illinois taxpayers, and they hurt our signatory contractors who play by the rules and are at a major disadvantage against unscrupulous contractors who lowball bids by cheating the system. Earlier this year we were proud to introduce wage theft legislation that was signed into law which now holds cheating contractors accountable. We will continue our fight for working families across Illinois.”
Raoul’s lawsuit alleges that between 2015 and 2020 alone, Drive Construction obtained contracts for public works projects, such as schools and public housing apartments, worth nearly $40 million. The contracts required Drive Construction to pay its carpenters at Illinois-mandated prevailing wage. Instead, Drive allegedly paid workers in cash, off the books, for thousands of hours of labor at rates well below the prevailing wage mandated by state law. Additionally, Raoul’s lawsuit alleges that Drive’s employees often worked over 50 hours per week on both public and private projects. The Illinois Minimum Wage Law requires employers to pay employees at time and a half their regular rate for each hour worked in excess of 40 per week. Instead of paying these workers at time and a half their regular rate of pay for overtime hours, Drive paid many of its employees off the books at the same rate of pay for all time worked, regardless of the number of hours employees worked on any given week.
The Attorney General’s lawsuit also names Jesus Cortez, Kelly Byrne, Francisco Guel, Raul Lovera and Juan Carlos Lara, alleging they helped Drive set up various shell companies to funnel millions of dollars of wages to its employees off the books and shield Drive Construction from liability for violating Illinois law. These entities included Accurate Construction, Infinity Construction, R&L Construction of Illinois, and A Lara Construction. According to Raoul, the shell companies relied on currency exchanges to convert Drive Construction’s money into cash and money orders that foremen used to compensate workers under the table.
The lawsuit is here.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 12:01 pm
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While I am opposed to Amendment 1 and have published the hidden agenda of proponents including Illinois Economic Policy Institute goal of adopting the California Assembly Bill 5 law and its detrimental impacts on lawful 1099 independent contractors here in Illinois, I’m not blind there are bad actors in both businesses, labor unions and within the government.
As I continue, through my work at Illinois Family Action on Amendment 1, I want to make very clear ANY bad actors violating the Illinois Employee Classification Act or any other applicable law should be held accountable under both state and federal law.
Comment by John Lopez Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 12:26 pm
Wage theft is theft.
This is a good first step.
Comment by The 5th Deputy Governor Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 12:33 pm
If false statements were made on agency submittals, or false certifications were made, it sounds like a classic case of mail or wire fraud, or a case of false Statements crimes, if made to a Fed agency or if Fed funds are involved. The US Attorney needs to look into these.
Comment by Ares Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 12:35 pm
==I’m not blind there are bad actors in both businesses==
Sure, you’re not blind to them, you just don’t want to do much about them. You won’t even call them out without trying to “both sides” the issue.
Comment by Arsenal Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 12:43 pm
Curious to learn the identity of the other suits involved in creating and administering this scheme. Names, please.
Comment by Rudy’s teeth Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 12:43 pm
===through my work at Illinois Family Action===
*This* Illinois Family Action?
===The news this week coming out of Maryland is that the state owns your children; you don’t. Your sons and daughters are Uncle Sam’s, not yours. Or perhaps more accurately, your children belong to Father Mao and Brother Stalin. They don’t belong to you.===
Or…
===As initial headlines read, the general public thought Village officials had capitulated to the ACLU in an “accept this agreement or else” with litigation coming LITH taxpayers way if the Village said no to entertainment in general and drag shows in particular at UpRising Bakery & Café.
If that were true, that is coercion and no matter what one thinks of the type of entertainment being shown at the bakery, ACLU lawyers bullying LITH taxpayers is wrong, if it is true===
*That* Illinois Family Action?
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 12:47 pm
=== Illinois Family Action ===
As you know OW, I didn’t write the Maryland article.
I did write the Lake in the Hills article you copied & pasted the excerpt which has been credited for being factual, and credible with my FOIA findings across the political spectrum.
Hopefully you read entire article and would agree.
As a freelance writer for Illinois Family Action, I submit articles and if accepted, Illinois Family Action publishes them.
Comment by John Lopez Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 1:02 pm
=The US Attorney needs to look into these.=
A separate, False Claims Act case has been pending against Drive for a few years in the Northern District based on these same set of facts
Comment by False Claims Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 1:08 pm
- John Lopez -
Was your Twitter suspended, I was looking for that link thru Twitter.
You then align with Illinois Family Action. Thanks.
To the post,
===Instead, Drive allegedly paid workers in cash, off the books, for thousands of hours of labor at rates well below the prevailing wage mandated by state law===
Prevailing wage is a protection for all. This is egregious
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 1:19 pm
===bullying===
One person’s bullying is another’s realizing that following the law is what is needed
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 1:21 pm
=I’m not blind there are bad actors in both businesses, labor unions and within the government.=
So your whataboutism leads you to conclude that we shouldn’t be hasty in trying to address these problems because, both sides?
Comment by Pundent Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 2:58 pm