Canton construction company to pay $75,000 to settle retaliation lawsuit

Wheeler Cowperthwaite, The Patriot Ledger
·3 min read

A Canton construction company will pay current and former employees $75,000, and agree to never harass them, after being sued by the U.S. Department of Labor for violating anti-retaliation laws.

The Department of Labor filed two lawsuits against Capone Bros. Inc. and owner Charles Capone. The first, filed in April, was for alleged violations of anti-retaliation laws and for a restraining order. The second, filed in July, was for an alleged violation of federal labor laws, for unpaid overtime.

A federal judge signed off on the consent order for the retaliation lawsuit last month. In it, Capone agreed to pay $75,000 in punitive damages, levied as punishment, to the Department of Labor, which will distribute the money to current and former employees. That brings the total compensation to employees to $385,000.

Lawsuit over retaliation: Feds sue Canton construction company for threat against employee in OT investigation

The lawsuit over unpaid overtime was filed in July and settled in August for $310,000, split among 19 employees: $155,000 in overtime pay and $155,000 in damages.

Capone will pay the $75,000 in $10,000 increments starting in January, and ending with a $5,000 payment in August, according to court records.

The consent order in the retaliation lawsuit also requires Capone and his company not to harass or intimidate current and former employees, threaten them or ask them if they have talked with federal investigators.

In an email, Capone's attorney, Matthew Feeney of Quincy, said Capone still denies the allegations of misconduct and settling the lawsuit was "in the best interests of his business and his employees."

Settling was better than "engaging in costly and lengthy litigation," Feeney said in the email.

Settlement over back pay: Canton construction company Capone Bros. agrees to pay workers $310,000 in back pay, damages

Capone had employees regularly work overtime, had them "bank" the hours and sometimes paid those hours at rates below the normal overtime rate of time and a half, according to court documents.

The retaliation lawsuit was filed because after the Department of Labor notified Capone of the complaint against him for unpaid overtime, Capone said he would "go after" former employee Nicole Hanson, whom he perceived to be responsible for the investigation. After she quit, he called her new employer and accused her of being "sneaky and a thief," according to court documents.

READ FOR YOURSELF: The complaint filed the Department of Labor alleging failure to pay for overtime

READ FOR YOURSELF: The lawsuit alleging unlawful retaliation

Hanson worked as an office manager, regularly 50 hours per week, but was only paid for 40. Anything over that 40 hours was logged into a "kiddie bank," to be used later for time off or sick days. However, when that money was paid out to Hanson, it was at a rate less than her regular rate, according to court documents.

In interviews with Department of Labor officials, Hanson said her overtime rate should have been $56.16, but Capone only paid her, and anyone else working overtime, a maximum of $25 an hour.

See our past coverage of this case

May 27, 2021: Feds sue Canton construction company for threat against employee in OT investigation

Aug. 11, 2021: Canton construction company Capone Bros. agrees to pay workers $310,000 in back pay, damages

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here's our latest offer.

Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Canton's Capone Bros Construction settles retaliation claims for $75k

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