Business Owners Arrested, Charged with Workers’ Comp Violations
- Three Connecticut business owners were arrested and charged with workers’ compensation violations, according to the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. All were released on $10,000 bonds.
- Luis Pomaquiza, 42, of Southington, owner of LA Roofing, LLC in Middletown, was charged with defrauding a workers’ compensation insurance carrier. Inspectors from the state Department of Labor’s Wage & Workplace Standards Division found multiple employees working at a Southington roof replacement site who were not being reported to the company’s insurer.
- Jordan Tyler, 36, of Marlborough, owner of J.A.T. Builders, LLC in East Hartford, was charged with noncompliance with insurance requirements. Investigators said an employee was injured while the company allegedly had no active workers’ compensation policy, and the state’s second injury fund was ordered to pay more than $25,000 in combined benefits to the worker and medical providers.
- Solomon Sade, 47, of Westport, owner of the restaurant Baxter & The Blondinit, was charged with two counts of noncompliance with insurance requirements after investigators determined the business operated without a workers’ compensation policy on two separate occasions.
Music Foundation Sued Again Over Missing Workers’ Comp Coverage
- The state of Alabama filed its third lawsuit against the Muscle Shoals Music Foundation, alleging the Sheffield-based organization has failed to provide proof of required workers’ compensation coverage. The Alabama Department of Workforce, through the Alabama Department of Labor’s Legal Division, filed the complaint Sept. 24 in Colbert County Circuit Court.
- The state asks a circuit judge to issue an injunction barring the foundation from operating in violation of the law and to impose any criminal fines or civil penalties authorized by state law until it complies.
- The complaint says the foundation employs at least five people, which makes it subject to Alabama Workers’ Compensation Law. It alleges a Department of Labor compliance supervisor requested proof of compliance multiple times and the foundation failed or refused to obtain coverage or verify it was in place.
- The state previously sued the foundation in 2022 and 2023, and both cases were dismissed after it provided proof of insurance.
Employee Accuses Baker Hughes of Retaliation for Filing Workers’ Comp Claim
- A business development manager for Houston-based Baker Hughes company business sued the Houston company in Harris County, alleging it retaliated against her for filing a workers’ compensation claim, in violation of the Texas Labor Code. She says she lost wages, back pay and benefits, including access to a company car, and was left out of meetings after filing.
- The suit says a “high-level employee” told the worker in October 2024, shortly after she joined the company, to put her head in several frac tanks during a training tour of a Wyoming facility. She alleges she inhaled hydrogen sulfide without any protective equipment and went to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with pericarditis and acute bronchospasm due to chemical inhalation. She alleges the employee knew doing so was dangerous.
- Two years later, the suit says, her injuries still require follow-up with doctors.
- A Baker Hughes spokesperson said the company does not comment on pending litigation.