Both companies have worked on projects throughout the Twin Cities, including MV Venture’s Viking Lakes development, which includes 3 million square feet of commercial space and 1,000 apartment units, according to the lawsuit, as Finance & Commerce has reported.
Finance & Commerce was not immediately able to reach PMC or Advantage for comment. PMC has an office in Brooklyn Park, according to its website.
In a public filing at the Office of Administrative Hearings, DLI alleges that PMC and Advantage owe back wages of “approximately $1.2 million.” The department is also seeking $1.2 million in liquidated damages from the companies.
DLI said it investigated PMC and Advantage between March 4, 2019, and June 5, 2022. The investigation “uncovered widespread wage theft and related unlawful practices on 19 separate construction projects,” including Viking Lakes, the department said.
DLI alleges, among other things, that 25 people “were jointly employed by PMC and Advantage and had not been paid the wages they were due, including overtime wages.” In addition, the department said, “many employees were paid off the books and in cash for a substantial portion of their employment and were not provided with earning statements as required by law.”
Also in the notice, the department alleges that PMC’s owner “displayed knowledge of overtime laws while flouting them and refusing to pay workers the overtime wages they were owed,” and “discouraged workers from reporting violations of the law and participating in DLI’s investigation.”
DLI said it imposed a $25,000 civil penalty for those “willful violations of the law.”
“Wage theft hurts workers and their families, and hurts responsible employers that abide by the law,” DLI Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach said in a statement. “It is unacceptable for employers to cheat employees out of the full wages they work so hard to earn. Likewise, it is unfair for contractors to have an edge when bidding against law-abiding companies by stealing wages from workers.”
In October 2022, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit alleging that Property Maintenance & Construction LLC and Property Maintenance and Construction Inc. “failed to pay required overtime wages, intimidated workers, and obstructed a state investigation into alleged wage theft,” as Finance & Commerce reported.
The lawsuit also alleges that the companies’ owner pressured a worker to use a fake Social Security number or be fired, and directed workers to acquire “fake working papers” so he could pay them “off the books.”
In a May 2022 statement, MV Ventures said it takes worker abuse allegations seriously.
“We fully support an investigation and will cooperate with [the Department of Labor and Industry] if any information is required from MV Ventures Construction. If the claims are substantiated, the subcontractors will have breached their contracts with MV Ventures Construction and will be held accountable,” MV Ventures said at the time.
“The North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters applauds the DLI decision to seek and recover $2.4 million in back wages and penalties resulting from intentional failure to pay Minnesota construction workers,” Richard Kolodziejski, government affairs director for the union, said in a statement. “Their extensive investigation has made clear that PMC and Advantage took unlawful advantage of workers they hired to do the work. We will continue to partner with the DLI and support their efforts to ensure these workers find justice.”
