Ashland contractor cited $117K over police station project wages

Ashland subcontractor On-Time Construction Services, Inc. and its owner Jonatas Vicente De Brito Barcelos have been cited $117,082 in restitution and penalties for intentionally violating the Massachusetts prevailing wage law and failing to submit true and accurate payroll records, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Monday.

The allegations stem from a project at the Acushnet Police Station for which On-Time was a subcontractor, according to a release from the AG’s office that began an investigation last July into the situation.

The investigation revealed that at various times between March and August of last year, On-Time failed to pay three workers the correct prevailing wage rate, according to the AG’s office. One worker was not paid any wages until after the investigation commenced. On-Time also certified on a weekly basis to the awarding authority that its workers were paid the prevailing wage rate even though they were not. Under the Massachusetts Prevailing Wage Law, contractors and subcontractors engaged in public construction projects must pay their employees a special minimum wage, according to the AG’s office.

Since the investigation began, On-Time has paid $78,987 in restitution to the employees.

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