A state task force has signed off on a series of policy suggestions to step up the enforcement of rules governing wage-theft and misclassification, ills that undercut honest contractors and exploit workers.

Tagged with: Gov. Tony Evers wage theft Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development worker misclassification

A task force wants the state officials to work together better and hire more investigators to root out wage theft, payroll fraud and other abuses, while requiring builders to register with the state in order to work in Wisconsin.

Tagged with: wage theft Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development worker misclassification

State agencies on Wednesday told a panel that the costs of the wage theft — a persistent source of concern in the construction industry — have worsened in recent years, depriving the state of millions worth of tax revenue.

Tagged with: Janell Knutson wage theft Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development worker misclassification

If Jairo Cruz had been a professional football player instead of a construction worker, he may well have been deemed a hero for playing his way through injury and taking one for the team.

Tagged with: immigration North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters wage theft worker misclassification

Life hasn’t always been easy for Hilaro Flores. A native of Mexico, the immigrant construction worker now living just over Wisconsin's border, in Minnesota, lost his mother when he was a young child. His father couldn’t take care of Hilaro and his four siblings, so the children were sent off to live in different homes.

Tagged with: wage theft worker misclassification

The lead Wisconsin misclassification investigator says he'd like more authority to issue stop work orders when officials find evidence that wage theft, payroll fraud and other abuses are taking place at a job site.

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Doug Speedling isn't the sort of person who would strike anyone as an agitator. Sporting a neatly trimmed mustache, the owner of Speedling Construction in St. Paul comes off as a businessman who just wants to do what he does best: build things.

Tagged with: wage theft worker misclassification

If drywall and flooring could talk, it'd probably have a dark story to tell about Wisconsin's ongoing construction boom. Behind projects big and small, say people close to the industry, there thrives an underground economy made up of contractors who cheat their workers out of wages and benefits to deliver projects on time and under budget.

Tagged with: Construction Business Group Department of Workforce Development wage theft worker misclassification

As Wisconsin revisits rules to crack down on worker misclassification, a new law that took effect in Minnesota on Monday is attaching criminal penalties not only to that particular abuse but also other forms of wage theft — making it one of the strictest such laws in the country.

Tagged with: Department of Workforce Development North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters wage theft worker misclassification

Minnesota transportation advocates and supporters of an off-year bonding bill are in wait-until-next-year mode after walking away from their state's 2019 legislative session empty-handed.

Tagged with: gas tax Gov. Tim Walz Minnesota prevailing wages roads wage theft