Illinois AG Settles With Construction Firms Over Worker Classifications

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has reached an agreement to settle claims against five Chicago-area construction firms that were falsely classifying their employees as independent contractors, rather than fully employed laborers.

The settlement agreement requires the businesses to end the practice, which traditionally has been a way for companies to skirt Illinois labor laws. The practice greatly harms the misclassified workers by limiting their legal protections, including access to workers’ compensation, unemployment assistance and fair wages.

The settlement follows claims investigated by Attorney General Madigan and the resulting lawsuit alleging the five small construction companies were in the practice of misclassifying dozens of their workers as independent contractors when they were actually employees of the companies. Under Illinois law, workers must be treated as employees unless they meet specific criteria permitting them to be classified as independent contractors.

The defendants are:

• Jerry Ryce Builders, Inc. and Jerry Ryce Masonry, Inc., owned by Boguslaw Omielan and operating out of 3801 South Archer Chicago, Ill.; and

• J S Masonary, Inc., JS Masonry & Tuckpointing, Inc., and JS Masonry & Stone, Inc., owned by Jan Staszel and operating out of 9001 W. Deerwood, Palos Hills, Ill.

All five companies have agreed to pay more than $79,000. The agreement also forbids the companies from participating in construction projects with public bodies for the next four years. Additionally, pursuant to the agreement, the Attorney General can inspect the businesses for compliance with Illinois labor laws at any time during the next five years. Finally, the agreement requires the defendants to properly classify their workers as employees and pay all required contributions to the State of Illinois.

Source: Illinois Attorney General’s Office

Latest Comments

• August 13, 2009 at 5:49 am

  sandman says:

  If the wk comp rates in Illinois weren't some of the highest and the employment taxes super high as well, maybe employers would play fairly. But with our tax and spend state g... read more
• August 13, 2009 at 12:04 pm

  Rich says:

  This happens in about 75% of construction projects. The workers are paid cash. If the Atty Gen audited general contractors, plumbers, electrician, masons and ventilation con... read more
• August 12, 2009 at 11:21 am

  Dugan says:

  Oh get off it Delight. Nice to see those who openly violate employment laws so openly embraced by others. Perhaps a Republican administration would simply do away with all ove... read more