Canton Contractor Under Federal Investigation Over OT Pay

The owner of a Canton contracting company accused of failing to pay employees for overtime worked also allegedly threatened a former employee he suspected of reporting the case, federal investigators say.

Charles Capone, owner of Capone Bros. also made false accusations to her new employer, according to a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction filed by the U.S. Labor Department, The Boston Globe reported.

Capone also forced other employees to either admit to being an informant or to say that they worked fewer overtime hours than the investigation revealed, according to the suit.

The Labor Department announced Monday that it had obtained the preliminary injunction against Capone, barring him from retaliating or discriminating against current and former employees.

“Threats by an employer clearly discourage workers from speaking up when their rights have been violated, or simply when they have questions about their pay,” Carlos Matos, district director of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division in Boston said in a statement.

Matthew Feeney, an attorney for Capone Bros., denied the allegations.

“Our clients strongly deny the unsubstantiated allegations made by the Department of Labor and look forward to presenting its case through the judicial process,” he said in an email.