Employers in Pennsylvania should stay on their toes as the Pennsylvania attorney general (AG) announced charges against a major mechanical contractor engaged in numerous public works projects for crimes arising from a prevailing wage dispute. This marks the first time that the attorney general has brought criminal charges for prevailing wage violations, which was previously enforced only through civil actions.

In September 2019, after a 21-month grand jury investigation, Attorney General Josh Shapiro brought charges against Goodco Mechanical, and its owner, Scott Good, arising from violations of the commonwealth’s prevailing wage laws by underpaying their employees and claiming credits for benefits not given. The violations occurred in connection with Goodco’s participation in the construction of a new Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) district headquarters in Clearfield County. According to the attorney general’s criminal complaint, the charges came after the grand jury found that Goodco and Good had “engaged in a misclassification scheme, whereby journeymen electricians and plumbers were directed to record a portion of the hours they worked each workday as lower-paid laborers, in order to reduce labor costs.” The AG alleges that “this misrepresentation of the proper wage classification allowed Good and Goodco to bid projects with lower wage and fringe benefit costs.”

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