workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_3419 -
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Published on: 12/20/2007
Last Visited: 12/24/2007
The lawsuit against Cole's Electric, Inc. of Owatonna, Minn. is the first ever in the state and one of the first in the nation, said Brendan Cummins, an attorney with Miller-O'Brien-Cummins who is representing the workers.The Minnesota Legislature made the suit possible when it amended the 34-year-old prevailing wage law in 2007 to include a private attorney general provision.In so doing, Minnesota lawmakers empowered workers to sue companies that compromise the public trust by not paying prevailing wages on state-financed projects.
Cummins said Cole's Electric has previously been sanctioned by the state for failing to pay its employees what the law requires.
"Cole's Electric's flagrant disregard for the law and the public interest is only one example of a much larger problem," said Cummins.