The state attorney general reports that thousands of workers at one of Pennsylvania’s largest road and bridge contractors have been laid off from $ 20.7 million in retirement and other benefits in the largest wage theft case in US history. Attorney General Joseph Shapiro said during an April 8 press conference on April 8 that State College Glenn Hubaker faces four criminal charges related to “theft by failure to do so.” What is required is to distribute the incoming funds. ”Shapiro said that the family-owned company has been in business since 1952 and won $ 1.7 billion worth of road and bridge projects in Bendot between 2003 and 2018. It employs about 1,200 employees, of whom 100 are at the company’s headquarters in State College, according to court documents, “For decades, they made everyone think they were playing by the rules.”… But they were all lies. In fact, they were involved in an unprecedented mass fraud. ”Shapiro said that the company, like all other employers, is required to pay the prevailing wages under state law and the federal Davis Bacon Act on government projects. The laws require that all workers’ wages, which are determined by the government, go Part of that wage could go to workers ’retirement, health, and other benefits, but all of this has to go to the worker somehow. But Shapiro said that instead of putting all the money that was supposed to go into workers’ retirement accounts, Hobaker did By transferring it to retirement funds for all employees, including company directors. He said workers “who do the hard work on Pennsylvania roads have been robbed of them in order to go into the pockets of C Suite executives.” The company would also overstate the workers’ medical costs, claiming they paid The entire hospital bill, for example, when insurance paid most of it, according to Shapiro. Hawbaker used “bogus billing to inflate costs for health care benefits for more theft from workers and aiding corporate managers.” The AG’s investigation team identified it at One example in 2018, the company claimed healthcare costs were $ 18.65 an hour, when actual cost was $ 6.67 an hour. This allowed her to offset other contractors on contract by setting their own costs, he said. “They weren’t stupid about it,” Shapiro said. “This was a complex process that spanned many years.” However, the statute of limitations on crimes dates back to 2015 only. The four charges of theft cover the period between September 1, 2015 and December 31, 2018, according to the criminal. Complaint. During that time, the company “stole just under $ 20.7 million in fringe benefits money for salaried workers,” according to a possible cause affidavit from Thomas J. Moore II, an investigator in the AG office. The affidavit provided this outline of how the scheme affects workers’ pensions and health and wellness benefits: Hawbaker’s bridge worker Harry Ward for 30 years discovered a problem with his retirement plan in 2018. The money he expected to receive from Hawbaker did not match his account . He verified with PennDOT and confirmed that he was short of thousands of dollars. “You are the hero in this story, and we are grateful to you,” said Shapiro Ward, who was in attendance at the press conference. “We’ll give you back your money.” For this effort, the Attorney General created a Hawbaker’s hotline for workers and retirees at 814-746-3518. Shapiro said the attorney general’s office knows who the victims are and will communicate with them as well, and Shapiro said Hobaker cooperated with the investigation. The company informed the investigators that it relied on bad advice from a former advisor, and that it had changed its methods since the beginning of the investigation, according to the affidavit, and the funds are now being directed correctly. Hawbaker issued the following statement in response to the charges: “Glenn O. Hawbaker is a third-generation family owned business that has been in business for nearly 70 years. Upon learning of the Attorney General’s investigation in 2018, we cooperated fully. While we believe we always act in compliance with all state laws. Federal laws, and very cautiously, the company immediately changed its prevailing wage practices.These changes remain in effect today as we continue to do what is appropriate for our employees, both past and present.Our company will continue to work constructively with the attorney general’s office to reach To a quick fix.Since 1952, Glenn O. Hawbaker’s mission has been to build, serve and develop local communities, and that will never change. ”Shapiro said this is the third prevalent wage theft in the state in the past three months. “I want to tell you that you are now aware,” said Shapiro, directing his message to employers. “If you steal from your employees, if you misclassify the workers, if you violate our labor laws, we will find you, and we will hold you accountable to the maximum extent permitted by law.”
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