Ordered to pay wages of $1,700 and fined $425
Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin today announced that William Contreras, of Providence, pled nolo contendere before District Court Judge Elaine T. Bucci to one count of violating a final order of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (RI-DLT) in violation of RIGL 28-14-4, Payment on Separation by Employer.
Contreras was sentenced to one year probation and ordered to pay restitution for unpaid wages in the amount of $1,700 and a $25 fine to RI-DLT.
Had the case proceeded to trial the state was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that William Contreras, owner of Home Delivery Group, failed to pay his employee Jose Guevara for 17 days of wages, totaling $1,700, for the time he worked between July 9, 2011 and August 8, 2011.
The employee, Jose Guevara, filed a complaint with the Labor Standards Unit at RI-DLT. A hearing was held on June 18, 2012 resulting in a decision ordering Contreras to pay wages to Guevara in the amount of $1,700 and a penalty in the amount of $425. Contreras failed to comply with the Order, and the case was referred to the Office of Attorney General for criminal prosecution.
Investigator John Rabbit investigated the matter and Genevieve Allaire-Johnson prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.