A husband and wife where cited more than $58,000 in restitution and fines for failing to pay the prevailing wage, misclassifying workers as independent contractors and record keeping violations Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office announced today. The couple, Alexander and Tatiana Shlepakov of Sharon, are the owners of the Providence, Rhode Island-based Padi USA, Inc. and the Sharon-based Elad Industrial Insurance, Inc. respectively.
The AG’s office cited Mr. Shlepakov and his company Padi USA for wilfully failing to pay the prevailing wage to 10 employees at seven public works construction projects; willfully misclassifying seven employees as independent contractors; willfully failing to submit true and accurate certified payroll records to the awarding authorities; and failing to keep true and accurate payroll records. After receiving complaints, investigators from the AG’s Fair Labor Division reviewed Padi’s payroll records and discovered that Shlepakov and his company ow more than $12,700 in wages to the affected employees. The AG also said that Shlepakov and his company must also pay a $12,750 fine to the Commonwealth.
The AG’s office also cited Mr. Shlepakov’s wife and her company Elad Industrial Insulation, Inc. for willfully failing to pay the prevailing wage to two employees on public construction projects; wilfully failing to submit true and accurate certified payroll records to awarding authorities; misclassifying two employees as independent contractors and failing to pay timely wages. All in all, the AG’s office said that Mrs. Shlepakov and her company were cited for failing to pay employees $19,515 in wages of which they have since paid $18,125.25 directly to one employee. As a result, both Mrs. Shlepakov and her company were ordered to pay a $12,250 fine to the Commonwealth.
Agency Checklists wants to remind agents and their agencies what The Massachusetts Employee Misclassification Law is about. As the AG explains, this law provides that an individual performing any service shall be considered to be an employee unless:
- the individual is free from control and direction in connection with the performance of the service, both under his or her contract for the performance of service and in fact; and
- the service is performed outside the usual course of the business of the employer; and,
- the individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business of the same nature as that involved in the service performed.
