Ohio firm settles Mass. worker claims

BOSTON – An Ohio-based painting company has paid more than $2 million in restitution to settle claims that it violated Massachusetts’ prevailing wage and overtime laws, engaged in unfair business practices and violated the Massachusetts False Claims Act, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced last week.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in May 2013 in Suffolk Superior Court, alleging that M&J Painting Inc. and its owner, Michael Kerpelis, intentionally failed to pay all wages to employees and knowingly submitted false payroll records in support of its claims for payment on a public construction contract.
According to a statement, the settlement provides more than $2 million in restitution to workers on a Braga Bridge painting project in Fall River. The settlement also resolves M&J’s claim that Mass. Department of Transportation was withholding money on a separate contract. •