By DAVE ALTIMARI, The Hartford Courant

10:55 p.m. EST, February 25, 2014


Stop-work orders outside of UConn's basketball practice facility Tuesday afternoon. (MICHAEL McANDREWS/ Hartford Courant / February 25, 2014)

The state Department of Labor has ordered two subcontractors helping build UConn's $32 million basketball practice facility off the job, alleging that they used undocumented workers and paid them in cash to avoid taxes.

State investigators made a surprise visit Sunday to the construction site on the Storrs campus and interviewed more than 40 workers from Intext Building Systems Inc. of Glastonbury and J & V Construction LLC of East Hartford, authorities said.

Gary Pechie, the labor department's director of wage and workplace standards, said investigators found that many of the workers were undocumented; that they were being paid in cash to avoid state taxes, insurance costs and workers' compensation; and that they were being paid less than the law allows.

The labor department does not have jurisdiction over undocumented workers but has referred the matter to federal officials, Pechie said.

"It certainly is very troubling that [undocumented workers] would be working on a project at our flagship university," Pechie said.

In a statement, UConn officials said that neither the school "nor its general contractor were aware of the violations alleged by the Department of Labor, nor would we condone any such work practices."

"The two 'stop work' orders pertain to those two entities, and all others on site are continuing to work. The job site is not shut down, and the removal of those two entities is not expected to affect the schedule or budget," the statement said.

The general contractor is Daniel O'Connell's Sons. Officials from Intext and J & V did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday morning.

"Intext notified us that they are working with the Department of Labor and that the stop work order is going to be lifted," said lawyer Frederick Hedberg, representing subcontractor Enfield Builders. "The job is moving forward uninterrupted, and Enfield Builders is prepared to supplement that labor if necessary."

UConn said late Tuesday that Acoustics Inc. of Hartford had taken over the work performed by the companies ordered off the job.

Resa Spaziani, a field supervisor for the Department of Labor, said investigators issued the stop work orders after Sunday's unannounced inspection revealed that workers were being underpaid and in cash since starting on the job last Aug. 21.

Spaziani said that more than 40 workers were interviewed, although some ran off the job site.

The stop work order prohibits just those two companies from working on the site. They were doing carpentry and framing work for the 75,000-square-foot building, Spaziani said.

Spaziani said the investigation, which is in its infancy, has uncovered more than $50,000 in unpaid taxable income. Spaziani said that a third company working at the site Sunday had no violations.

"I imagine this case will go well beyond $100,000 before the investigation is over," Spaziani said. "It appears these companies have been operating like this for quite a while."

Labor officials said that although the general contractor is responsible for monitoring subcontractors, it is not liable for any of the penalties.

The labor department can issue civil penalties ordering the companies to repay back taxes to the state and also to pay back wages to the employees that they were paying less than a legal wage.

Spaziani said the investigation is continuing.

The basketball practice facility is scheduled to be completed by May. The two-story building is being funded by the University of Connecticut Foundation, which raised more than $24 million in private donations.

The legislature's labor committee will consider a bill this year that would increase fines for employers found to violate state laws related to workers' pay, said Sen. Catherine Osten, D-Sprague, the committee's co-chairwoman.

http://www.courant.com/news/connecti...,6008623.story