In 2019, unionized construction workers raised the alarm over a company building luxury apartment buildings in Oakland that appeared to be avoiding its financial obligations to the state and its workers. .
The information sparked a multi-year investigation by the California Department of Justice, which accused Kentucky-based company US Framing West of violating state labor laws and engaging in tax evasion and wage theft at its Oakland factory. He was accused of Several other construction projects in the state also received public funding.
“We allege that U.S. Framing West failed to pay more than $2.5 million in state payroll taxes while working on these projects,” Atty said. Gen. Rob Bonta said at a news conference Tuesday. “We also allege that U.S. Framing West underpaid employees approximately $40,000 on a public works project in Cathedral City.”
Bonta and his team filed 31 criminal charges against US Framing West and two of its employees, including grand larceny, payroll tax evasion, rampant wage theft, and filing false documents.
“For some reason, U.S. Framing West seems to think it can do that.” [operate] “We believe that outside of California’s labor laws, we can steal from California and our workers,” Bonta said. “I came here with a simple message: They can’t do it. No company can do it.”
Two employees, Thomas Gregory English and Amelia Frazier Krebs, and the company pleaded not guilty in the case earlier this month, according to Los Angeles Superior Court records.
Gary S. Linsenberg, an attorney representing Britain and the major companies, declined to comment on the specifics of the allegations, but said, “We intend to address the AG’s concerns in court.”
“US Framing is a hard-working company with a strong reputation,” Linsenberg said in a statement.
Jeffrey Rutherford, an attorney representing Krebs, said he and his client “intend to vigorously contest the charges.”
According to the Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Framing West will operate multiple locations across the state from 2018 to 2022, including Alameda County, Los Angeles County, Contra Costa County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Diego County, San Francisco County and Santa Clara County. worked on construction projects. Bonta said the company often employs workers from unlicensed subcontractors, which the state requires them to classify as company employees, which triggers certain tax requirements. However, the company failed to properly report and submit taxes for these subcontractors.
Additionally, investigators found that U.S. Framing West paid prevailing wages (typically the wages of unionized workers and well above the minimum wage for professional workers) on public works projects in Cathedral City. discovered that you do not meet the requirements to pay. Public works projects are defined as projects that use public funds of more than $1,000.
Mr. Bonta called on union officials, employees, or concerned citizens to report other potential labor law violations to the Department of Justice.
“It’s no coincidence that California boasts the fifth largest economy in the world,” Bonta said. “That’s because we have the strongest worker protections in the country. And that’s because in California, we stand up for our workers.”
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