Coakley
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced a settlement and indictments on Monday with two businesses for allegedly failing to pay more than $553,000 into the state's unemployment trust fund.
The Danvers-based International Protective Services and the Amesbury-based Green Company Landscape & Irrigation Inc. and their principles allegedly failed to make quarterly unemployment contributions.
Coakley's Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development's Department of Unemployment Assistance uses collaborative efforts to determine businesses that fail to contribute to the fund.
"Qualifying employers are required to pay contributions to the unemployment compensation fund in Massachusetts to ensure that benefits are available for eligible workers," Coakley said. "Our enforcement effort aims to level the playing field for those businesses that already follow the law and assure compliance in the future."
Under the terms of a settlement, International Protective Services and its principles, Joseph Snyder and Thomas Driscoll, will pay more than $108,000 to resolve allegations that they failed to pay their full unemployment contributions into the unemployment trust fund.
Green Company Landscape & Irrigation Inc. and owner Bruce Bourassa were each indicted on 22 counts of non-payments of employer contributions. Bourassa and Green Company allegedly failed to pay more than $445,000 in employer contributions including interest.
The Department of Unemployment Assistance administers the Unemployment Insurance program, which provides temporary assistance to unemployed workers. The funding for the benefits comes from employers in the state. Standard employers pay quarterly contributions into the trust fund and non-profit or governmental employers may self-insure to reimburse the state dollar-for-dollar for paid benefits.