Union protest highlights questions around alleged workers comp fraud on MBTA construction site.SOUTH BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 7, 1996--Dozens of Iron Workers Local #7 members are staging a protest at a South Boston MBTA MBTA Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MBTA Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 MBTA Model-Based Tracking Algorithm construction site to demand immediate action on alleged workers compensation fraud by a Dracut contractor. Several Union pickets were struck by a contractors truck during an early morning confrontation at the South Boston/Dorchester Avenue entrance to the South Station Postal facility. The Union intends to continue protests at the project until T management checks the awarding of this bid to an iron contractor under investigation by the State Department of Industrial Accidents Fraud Division. "We are engaging in the time-honored tradition of peaceful protest to effect change," explained Local #7 Business Agent/Organizer Bernard Ber·nard , Claude 1813-1878. French physiologist noted for his study of the digestive and nervous systems. A. Evers. "When laws that are intended to protect taxpayers and responsible contractors who provide workers' compensation workers' compensation, payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. insurance are not enforced, everyone loses. This protest is intended to raise public attention and demand that MBTA management take action immediately." SW Construction, a iron works I´ron works` a. 1. See under Iron, a. os> subcontractor One who takes a portion of a contract from the principal contractor or from another subcontractor. When an individual or a company is involved in a large-scale project, a contractor is often hired to see that the work is done. on the AMTRAK Bridge, has recently been the target of an investigation by the State Department of Industrial Accidents' (DIA) Fraud Division. The DIA had earlier issued a stop work order against SW Construction because the contractor allegedly did not have workers compensation insurance coverage for its employees. Coverage is required to be eligible to bid on public construction projects. SW appealed the DIA action and currently has 12 employees working at the MBTA site. The contractor faces fines of $250 a day if it does not provide insurance coverage. "The state has raised serious questions about alleged workers comp comp See comparison. fraud by this contractor and it is in the best interest of the public that the MBTA take quick action to resolve this problem," explained Evers. "If there is an injury at this site, it is that worker and his or her family who will be caught in the middle of a legal mess." Actions th MBTA can take include shutting-down SW's part of the project until all questions are resolved or replacing SW with a contractor who has a Workers Compensation certificate on file. Fraud investigators told the Boston Herald The Boston Herald is a tabloid format newspaper, though not a tabloid in the traditional sense, and is the smaller of the two big dailies in Boston, Massachusetts (the other being The Boston Globe). that typical wage violation cases include companies falsely saying workers have less dangerous jobs or simply understanding their total work force. While prosecutors said workers' comp is a major expense for companies, they said there is a greater costs when some employers try to reduce their premiums illegally. "By leaving this unchecked, you really create an unlevel playing field for the good guys," Daniel Skelly Skel´ly v. i. 1. To squint. n. 1. A squint. , chief of Investigations for the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts, told the Boston Herald on Aug. 6. CONTACT: Edwin Wright/Bernie Evers 617/254-7542 |
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