Wage-law charges probed in school cleanup (only paying $9, should be $46/hr)

[The Straight Story]

Wage-law charges probed in school cleanup

By Mark E. Vogler [email protected] The Eagle Tribune Sat Oct 23, 2010, 06:51 PM EDT

LAWRENCE — The state Department of Labor is checking allegations that the company hired to remove mold from the Guilmette School is violating prevailing wage laws in its cleanup.

George Noel, state labor director, said he sent an investigator to the school yesterday in response to a complaint that Servpro of Andover was using temporary employees who are being paid far less than the hourly rate the state requires for workers on a public project.

Business Manager Michael P. Gagliardi of Methuen-based Local 175 of the Laborers International Union accused Servpro of hiring untrained workers at the rate of $9 an hour instead of paying skilled employees a prevailing wage of about $46 an hour, as required by law.

Meanwhile, interim School Superintendent Mary Lou Bergeron announced that the school won't reopen Monday because of the discovery of additional mold, which has delayed the cleanup. The school, which serves 1,150 students in grades one through eight, has been closed since Oct. 15 after school officials ordered a round-the-clock cleanup of the mold. They said they hoped it would take only a week for the cleanup.

http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x1744211354/Wage-law-charges-probed-in-school-cleanup