(BOSTON) - For More Than Three Years, Workers Doing Asbestos Removal and Demolition Jobs for Several Woburn Companies in Massachusetts Were Paid in Cash, Resulting in More Than $700,000 in Unreported Wages, Federal Prosecutors Have Charged in an Indictment.

Meanwhile, Construction Workers Around the State - Particularly Immigrants Hired by Subcontractors - say They Sometimes Go for Weeks Without Pay.  When They Do Get Paid, it Can be Less Than Promised and Overtime Pay is Virtually Nonexistent.

Many of Them are Hired as Independent Contractors, Without the Job Protections or Tax Deductions of a Traditional Employment Relationship.

The Practice, Known as Wage Theft, “Has Reached Epidemic Levels” in Massachusetts, Namely in the Booming Residential Construction Industry, According to Research From the University Of Massachusetts/Amherst.

In the Past 18 Months, The State Attorney General’s Office Has Issued More Wage Violation Citations Against Employers in the Construction Industry Than in Any Other Sector - 253 Citations in All, Resulting in More Than $1.6 Million Being Recovered in Penalties and Unpaid Wages.

The Attorney General’s Office said Cracking Down on Wage Theft Continues to be a Priority.

“This is the ‘New’ Model,” said Tom Juravich, a UMass Amherst Labor Professor and the Lead Author of a Paper Detailing Wage Violations in the State’s Residential Construction Industry. “The Assumption (in the Industry) is That the ‘Great Majority’ of Subcontractors is Going to Use Undocumented Workers and is Going to ‘Cheat’ Them Out of Wages.”

The State Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) - a Non-Union Construction Trade Group, Acknowledged That Wage Violations are an Issue in the Industry, But Maintained That Most Companies Treat Workers Fairly.

In An Attempt to Save Money on Labor Costs, More Employers are Classifying Workers as Independent Contractors, According to the Department of Labor, in an Attempt to Get Around Overtime and Health Insurance Rules and to Avoid Payroll and Insurance Taxes.

But In Massachusetts, if a Worker is Taking Direct Orders From an Employer and Otherwise Acting Like a Traditional Employee, This Arrangement Is Illegal.

Going After Crooked Employers Can be Difficult, Juravich said, Because Even Though the State Has Strong Wage Laws, it Has a Limited Ability to Enforce Them.

Job Sites Have Become Fluid, With Multiple Layers of Subcontractors Outsourcing Work, Making it Tricky to Determine Who a Person Works for.

Before the Economic Downturn, as Many as One in Four Massachusetts Construction Employers Were Misclassifying Construction Workers as Independent Contractors, According to a 2004 Harvard University Study - the Most Recent Construction-Specific Estimates Available.

The Problem is No Doubt Worse Today, said Study Author Elaine Bernard, Who Serves as Executive Director of the Law School’s Labor and Work Life Program.

Legislation Filed in the House and Senate Would Give the State More Power to Weed Out Corrupt Employers.

It Starts at the Top - Holding Lead Employers Responsible for the Wage Violations of Their Subcontractors.

The Measure, Which Has Not Yet Had a Hearing, Would Also Give the State the Power to Issue Stop-Work Orders at Job Sites Where Workers are Being Misclassified or Getting Paid in Cash.

In a Recent Briefing, David Weil – Who Serves as Head of the Wage and Hour Division at the U.S. Department of Labor, Noted Wage Theft is a “Huge Problem” That’s Spread From Construction to Many Other Industries.  “In ‘Virtually Every Corner’ of the Economy, This ‘Problem’ Has Become ‘Pervasive,’” he said.

To Read the Rest of This Labor News Story, Go to: www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/05/11/wage-theft-rampant-residential-construction-industry-workers-and-labor-groups-say/AS6oMO3EfZLr0sbMV4xNGN/story.html