The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry is seeking $2.4 million in back wages and civil penalties after an investigation found two Viking Lakes construction project subcontractors guilty of wage theft.
The agency alleges that the subcontractors — Property Maintenance and Construction (PMC) and the roofing and siding firm Advantage Construction Inc. — failed to pay $1.2 million in wages due to workers on 19 construction projects, including Viking Lakes in Eagan.
The investigation findings were included in a hearing request filed with the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings.
"It is unacceptable for employers to cheat employees out of the full wages they work so hard to earn. Likewise, it is unfair for contractors to have an edge when bidding against law-abiding companies by stealing wages from workers," said Labor Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach in a statement.
Besides the Eagan project, the other work sites were throughout the Twin Cities from Woodbury to Eden Prairie, plus outstate cities such as Rochester and Sherburn.
The Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) investigation and audits took place between March 4, 2019, and June 5, 2022, the hearing notice said.
The agency said investigators found evidence that workers were repeatedly warned not to report wage violations to authorities.
Still, during the past two years, PMC employees, some of whom were unauthorized immigrants, said publicly that they were paid in cash off the books and were paid less than promised. They also said they were denied overtime pay, despite working 10-hour days, six days a week.