Boeing site firm fined

Report: Contractor lacks credentials for 13 workers
By Katy Stech
Saturday, January 8, 2011

An Ohio concrete contractor at Boeing Co.'s $750 million aircraft plant at Charleston International Airport relied on a handful of immigrant workers in the country illegally to get its part of the massive construction job done, according to a new state labor report.

Government workplace regulators found that Baker Concrete, which hired 88 laborers after it began working on the Boeing site in February, couldn't provide the right paperwork for 13 of those employees.

The violation prompted agency officials to issue a $14,450 fine and notify federal immigration officials.

Baker Concrete's violations marked the most severe infraction found by the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation during a four-month audit of the Boeing construction site in North Charleston.

The newly released report showed that while a handful of companies on the site violated state hiring procedures, an overwhelming majority of the 1,741 workers audited were in compliance with federal labor laws.

A Baker Concrete representative said only four workers with questionable credentials remain at the site. Its attorney, Todd Wilkowski, said those workers have submitted paperwork to an online database that later will determine their status and work eligibility.

"We take these kind of responsibilities very seriously," he said. "We've never had a problem before, and quite frankly, we won't have a problem again."

State labor department spokesman Jim Knight said Friday that the fine assessed to Baker Concrete would be waived based on the company's cooperation.

He also said officials could run another round of audits before the 1.2 million-square-foot assembly plant for the 787 jet opens in July.

"I'm sure as work continues, additional subcontractors will be on the site, and we may return at some point in the future," Knight said.

Most violations found during the audit came after construction companies took too long to verify a worker's eligibility, a process that should take five business days.

State inspectors did not find any violations with BE&K Building Group or Turner Construction, two firms that are working together as Boeing's general contractor.

After the report, BE&K/Turner Joint Venture provided a statement saying that if a subcontractor is not in compliance with the rules, "we can take action including the right to terminate the contract for cause."

Candy Eslinger, a Boeing spokeswoman, said her company still was digesting the results of Friday's review.

"We're working closely with the BE&K/Turner Joint Venture to fully understand all aspects of the reports that were published today," Eslinger said in a statement.

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