The owners of the company hired for asbestos remediation work on the Barrington Middle School construction project were arraigned on wage theft charges on Tuesday, Oct. 19, in Sixth Division District Court.

According to a press release from RI Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, Thomas McCoog and Amy Franklin, the owners of Franklin Analytical Services in Marion, Mass., are each charged with five counts of failure to pay overtime on a prevailing wage job, one count of conspiracy to failure to pay overtime wages, one count of conspiracy to file false certified payroll, and one count of filing a false certified payroll document.

“As alleged in court filings, McCoog and Franklin are accused of failing to pay prevailing overtime wages totaling at least $12,000 to five former employees for asbestos remediation work, which was conducted between June and September 2019 during the construction of Barrington Middle School,” stated the release.

“It is alleged that McCoog and Franklin knowingly did not pay their employees for work performed on weekends during that time period and that they filed a false certified payroll document with the Town of Barrington.”

Under Rhode Island Law, contracts for public works awarded by government entities must pay prevailing overtime wages for work performed over 40 hours.

Mr. McCoog, 64, and Ms. Franklin, 57, are scheduled for a pretrial conference on November 17, 2021, in Sixth Division District Court.

The case was referred to the Office of the Attorney General from the Department of Labor and Training (DLT). During the investigation by the Office of the Attorney General, Mr. McCoog and Ms. Franklin paid restitution to several of their former employees.