Office of the Attorney General: Holden Landscaping Contractor Agrees to Pay More Than $84,000 in Restitution and Penalties for Violating the Prevailing Wage Laws

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

August 15, 2008

Contact: Harry Pierre
(617) 727-2543


BOSTON – Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office has reached an agreement with a Holden landscaping contractor and its owner for violating the Massachusetts Wage and Hour Laws. As part of the settlement agreement, Robert Arello, 73, of Princeton, and his company, Arello, Inc., were cited for intentionally failing to pay the prevailing wage to 18 employees who worked on several public construction projects in Massachusetts between August 2005 and June 2007. Arello and his company agreed to pay over $60,000 in restitution to the affected employees and nearly $25,000 in penalties.

The Attorney General’s Office commenced an investigation in July 2007, after inspectors from the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division conducted a site visit at the Algonquin Regional High School construction project in Northborough and discovered that this employer had not submitted certified payroll records to the project’s awarding authority as is required under Prevailing Wage Laws. The Office thereafter expanded its investigation to include all public projects on which this employer had performed work, including a Mass Highway project on Route I-395; a Mass Highway Project in Wayland; the Airport Park Ball Field in Grafton; a Public Works and Economic Development project in Worcester; and the Upper Charles Bikeway in Milford. Authorities determined that Arello was not paying the prevailing wage based on a review of the company’s payroll records.

The Attorney General’s Office has previously cited Arello and his company in 2001 for failure to submit certified payroll records for work on a public construction project in Worcester.

The Prevailing Wage Laws apply to construction work performed on public works projects in Massachusetts. These laws allow all contractors bidding on public works projects to enjoy a “level playing field” by standardizing the rate of pay the workers will earn. A company’s failure to pay its employees the state prevailing wage for work performed at a public construction site can result in both civil and criminal penalties against the company and its owner.

Workers who believe they may not been paid the appropriate wages are encouraged to call the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465.

The matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Kate J. Fitzpatrick and Inspector James Kelley, both of Attorney General Coakley’s Fair Labor Division.