State Investigating Storrs Center For Worker Violations As Union Group Charges Undocumented Labor

By KENNETH R. GOSSELIN
The Hartford Courant

6:04 p.m. EST, November 14, 2011

State officials are probing potential workplace violations by a subcontractor at the high-profile Storrs Center development near the University of Connecticut, after an inspection that that also revealed that some workers on the site might be undocumented.

Sources said the investigation of payroll and workers compensation practices by Allstate Interiors, a drywall subcontractor based in Monroe, N.Y., also revealed that workers who did not speak English, did not have Social Security numbers. Workers in the United States are required to register with the Social Security Administration.

The state Department of Labor confirmed the existence of the probe at the $220 million commercial and residential development, but declined to comment because it is ongoing.

The Connecticut Laborers' District Council has criticized master developer LeylandAlliance LLC of Tuxedo, New York, for using out-of-state contractors and nonunion workers. At the June groundbreaking of the mixed-used project, the council staged a protest with 100 of its members.

The labor group issued a press release saying that a company called "Monroe Interiors" was found to have employed 18 undocumented workers on the Storrs Center job, and that Monroe Interiors disbanded in October. However, there is no record of a Monroe Interiors on the site.

Allstate Interiors did not have an immediate comment Monday.

LeylandAlliance issued a statement saying the documentation of each workers on the site, an average of 110 a day, is checked rigorously. After visits to the site on Oct. 17 and again on Nov. 7, the statement said, "the Department of Labor representative informed our general contractor, Erland Construction Inc., that there were no issues."

"The entire development team for Storrs Center…is committed to ensuring legal and safe working conditions," said Howard Kaufman, managing member of the LeylandAlliance affiliate that's in charge of the project.

In the press release that incorrectly named Monroe Interiors, Charles LaConche, the labor council's business manager, praised the probe because it revealed problems at the site, which the council had warned about.

The probe "has averted some kind of construction site injury or death," LaConche said. "The presence of undocumented workers means there are untrained workers onsite who fail to follow area standards."

On its web site, Allstate, founded in 1987, claims to be "one of the Northeast region's largest framing, drywall, and flooring underlayment subcontractors, with approximately $28 million in annual billings."

The web site said the company has 35 full-time employees. "Allstate Interiors also draws from a talent pool of up to several hundred installer-subcontractors, so we can ramp up quickly to meet even the tightest deadlines," the web site said.

The Department of Homeland Security, which deals with immigration documentation, is aware of the situation, a source familiar with the issue said, but it was unclear Monday whether it has launched an investigation. The department's New Haven office did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

Storrs Center will include 70,000 square feet of street-level commercial space planned for the first two phases, expected to be completed in 2012 and 2013. LeylandAlliance will own and manage the space.

About 290 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments above the shops to be developed in the first two phases. They will be developed, owned and managed by Education Realty Trust Inc. of Memphis, Tenn.

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