AG Madigan sues local contractor for underpaying wages in public works project

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit against a local contractor alleging it violated labor laws by underpaying workers approximately $100,000 in a public works project.

The Department of Labor alleges Thoele Asphalt Paving was a subcontractor that general contractor Baxmeyer Construction hired to repair rip rap along Illinois Route 100 between Alton and Grafton. The construction company also transported materials to work sites for the completion of the project, according to the complaint filed Oct. 4 in Madison County Circuit Court.

Later, the Department of Labor received a complaint about Thoele Asphalt Paving in which a person reported that it did not comply with the Prevailing Wage Act, the suit states. The Department of Labor conducted an investigation and found that Thoele had violated the act, the complaint says.

“Thoele Asphalt Paving failed to comply with the provisions of the Prevailing Wage Act because it failed to pay the claimants in the amounts as indicated,” the suit states. “The aggregate sum of underpayments owed to all claimants for the work performed on the public works project and required by the Prevailing Wage Law is $108,392.95.”

Although the Department of Labor demanded the money from Thoele, it has failed to make the required payments, according to the complaint.

In its complaint, the Department of Labor is seeking compensatory damages, plus penalties of 23 percent of the compensatory damages, punitive damages of 2 percent of the compensatory damages per employee, costs, attorney’s fees and other relief the court deems just.

Adam J. Poe, the assistant attorney general in Springfield, will be representing it.

Madison County Circuit Court case number: 13-L-1672.