Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today reached a $550,000 settlement with Polo Masonry Builders Inc. (Polo), United Builders Group Co. (United), and company owners Petro Pariychuk and Oleh Synychak. If accepted by a judge, the settlement agreement will resolve allegations that the Glenview, Illinois-based construction company, United, and its dissolved predecessor, Polo, violated state law by misclassifying employees and failing to pay current and former employees any overtime wages for hours worked above 40 per week.
“When employees are misclassified as independent contractors, they are deprived of critical labor protections they deserve and are entitled to under state law,” Raoul said. “My office will not stop fighting to protect workers’ rights and ensure that all employers doing business in Illinois comply with Illinois laws across all industries.”
Attorney General Raoul’s office began investigating Polo and United, masonry companies that operated largely in northern Illinois, after receiving complaints from the Bricklayers District Council 1 and the Illinois Department of Insurance. The Attorney General’s investigation revealed the companies misclassified nearly 100 employees as independent contractors. Raoul’s office also found that the companies paid employees for all hours worked, including hours worked above 40 per week, at their regular hourly rate of pay without paying any premiums for overtime hours.
According to Illinois’ Employee Classification Act, any construction industry worker is presumed to be an employee, rather than an independent contractor, unless the employer shows the employee is working in an independent trade, separate from the employer’s usual course of business and wholly free from the employer’s control. The Illinois Minimum Wage Law requires an overtime premium of 150% of regular hourly wages for each hour over 40 worked in a single workweek.
Raoul’s proposed settlement allows employees to recover overtime wages that Polo and United should have paid them years ago. The agreement also requires Petro Pariychuk and Oleh Synychak to inform the Attorney General’s office of any construction firms they operate so that they can be monitored for future compliance with Illinois law.
Assistant Attorneys General Jack Cramer and Henry Weaver and Bureau Chief Alvar Ayala handled the case for Raoul’s Workplace Rights Bureau.
Attorney General Raoul’s Workplace Rights Bureau protects and advances the employment rights of all Illinois residents, particularly the state’s most vulnerable residents and immigrant populations. The bureau investigates and litigates cases involving serious or persistent wage law violations or other significant employment practices, and monitors and proposes legislation concerning labor and employment issues.
Attorney General Raoul encourages workers who have concerns about wage and hour violations to call his Workplace Rights Hotline at 1-844-740-5076 or visit the office’s website to file a complaint online.
