Minnesota recovers $1.28 million in stolen construction worker wages

MINNEAPOLIS – Several construction companies in Minnesota agreed to pay $1.28 million in back wages and damages following an investigation into shady business practices by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

A DLI audit found that Property Maintenance and Construction LLC, Property Maintenance and Construction Inc. (PMC) and Advantage Construction Inc. committed widespread wage and hour violations at 19 different Twin Cities construction projects from March 2019 to June 2022, including the Viking Lakes project in Eagan.

State investigators found that Advantage, based out of East Bethal, and its contractors stole wages from 26 workers during the audit period.

A consent decree signed by the construction companies resolves a contested compliance order originally filed by the state in October 2023.

"As a result of these consent orders, 26 workers will receive back wages that are years overdue – most workers were shorted tens of thousands of dollars,” DLI Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach said in a press release. "These efforts not only support workers who are victims of wage theft, they help to ensure a level playing field for law-abiding employers in the construction industry.”

Minnesota has comparatively robust labor laws to protect workers from wage theft, a practice that costs American workers billions a year.