Minnesota labor regulators are seeking $2.4 million in back wages and damages for 25 construction workers in the largest wage theft case ever brought by the state Department of Labor and Industry.
State regulators allege two subcontractors — Property Maintenance and Construction and Advantage Construction — cheated workers out of wages at 19 apartment buildings in Minnesota.
Among the high-profile projects: Viking Lakes apartments in Eagan, developed by the Wilf family owners of the Minnesota Vikings at the NFL team’s headquarters.
The workers at Viking Lakes, whose stories were first reported by the Reformer in 2022, say they were paid in cash, denied overtime pay, coerced to falsify immigration documents and threatened by PMC owner Leopoldo Pimentel.
The two construction subcontractors worked with some of the largest developers and general contractors in Minnesota, including Roers Companies, Doran and Dominium, highlighting the pervasiveness of wage violations in the non-union construction sector.
“Wage theft hurts workers and their families, and hurts responsible employers that abide by the law,” DLI Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach said in a statement. “Likewise, it is unfair for contractors to have an edge when bidding against law-abiding companies by stealing wages from workers.”
The Department of Labor and Industry filed the lawsuit with the Office of Administrative Hearings Tuesday, claiming $1.2 million in unpaid wages and $1.2 million in liquidated damages for the workers.
