Politics & Government

Out-of-State Contractors Fined $36k For Violating Workers' Rights on West Hartford Site

Workers were on-site at the Westfarms Mall for 4 days following a "stop work order" from Connecticut Department of Labor.

The construction site at the Apple store in Westfarms Mall in West Hartford was a little more dangerous than usual this month. For four days workers were not covered by worker compensation, a legal requirement in Connecticut that ensures workers are protected against paying for workplace injuries.

And that lead to head contractor Dickinson Cameron Construction, from California, being fined $36,000, according to Nancy Steffens from Connecticut’s Department of Labor’s Communications Department. They have now paid the fine.

“Our first objective was to keep workers safe,” Sheffens explained to Patch in a phone interview.

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Between June 3 and June 6 work continued on site, despite the Department of Labor having issued a “stop work order” on June 3 when their investigators found that neither the contractor nor the two sub-contractors had worker compensation. There were no worker injuries reported during the period, according to the Department of Labor.

The Department of Labor subsequently met with Dickinson Cameron Construction and the two sub-contractor Blue Water Glass, from Michigan, and Excel Construction, from DC. They will continue to monitor the site, Steffens said.

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None of the contractors have responded to requests for comment.



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