ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH CONSTRUCTION COMPANY FOR WORKER MISCLASSIFICATION, UNPAID OVERTIME WAGES

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH CONSTRUCTION COMPANY FOR WORKER MISCLASSIFICATION, UNPAID OVERTIME WAGES

August 27, 2024

TBJ Drywall & Taping Inc. Agrees to Repay $718,000 in Unpaid Wages

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today reached a settlement with TBJ Drywall & Taping Inc. (TBJ), a construction company based in Elgin, Illinois. The settlement resolves allegations TBJ misclassified employees and failed to pay $718,000 in overtime wages to hundreds of current and former employees.

"My office is proud to work with labor unions to investigate possible violations of Illinois' employee misclassification law, particularly in the construction industry where they are especially prevalent. Misclassification of employees as independent contractors robs employees of protections and deprives the state of tax revenue," Raoul said. "My office will continue fighting to protect workers' rights in the construction industry and every industry, and to make sure companies doing business in Illinois comply with our laws."

Attorney General Raoul's office began investigating TBJ, a drywall, taping and painting company that operates largely in Northern Illinois, after receiving complaints from the Painters District Council No. 30.

The Attorney General's investigation revealed that, between at least 2018 and 2023, TBJ misclassified over 480 of its employees as independent contractors and paid them a fixed-day rate regardless of the number of hours they worked each day or each week. As a result, workers were deprived of overtime premiums for hours worked above 40 hours per week. TBJ also sometimes failed to pay overtime premiums to employees who worked more than 40 hours per week, instead paying them in cash at their regular rate of pay for work performed on weekends.

According to the Employee Classification Act, any construction industry worker is presumed to be an employee, rather than an independent contractor, unless the employer can show 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.

Once it is approved by the court, Raoul's settlement allows impacted employees to recover most of their owed wages. The consent decree also requires TBJ to overhaul its practices, many of which Raoul's investigation prompted it to address. The consent decree also subjects TBJ to four and a half years of monitoring by the Attorney General's office.

Bureau Chief Alvar Ayala and Assistant Attorney General Jack Cramer 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 submit an online complaint in English or in Spanish.