Connecticut is seeking $6.1 million in damages and penalties on behalf of 2,068 fast-food workers who the state says are owed wages from the private operator of state-owned service plazas on I-95, I-395 and Route 15.
In a lawsuit filed in Hartford Superior Court, the state Department of Labor accuses Project Service LLC of underpaying workers by $2.7 million from Aug. 29, 2017 through Sept. 20, 2019.
The suit announced Friday by Attorney General William Tong seeks double damages and $731,700 in civil penalties. It is the largest wage-theft lawsuit since Tong took office in 2019.
“This is all about people who are just trying to make it through the day, put food on their table, provide for their families, pay the rent. That’s what this is about,” Tong said.
At issue is whether a formula for calculating the standard wage that must be paid by private contractors offering maintenance, property management or food service in state buildings applies to the state’s 23 service plazas.
“It’s more than a contract dispute,” Tong said. “It is a violation of our state’s wage and hour laws, in addition to being a breach of the contract.”
At the urging of SEIU 32BJ, the union that represents many low-wage service workers, the reach of the standard wage law was expanded and clarified in 2009, the same year the state signed a 35-year deal with Project Service LLC to modernize and operate 23 service plazas.
Among other things, the law requires state contractors to provide either fringe...
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