Auditor demands proof of workers' residency

Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 15, 2005 at midnight

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City Auditor Dennis Gallagher has challenged a city subcontractor to prove its workers on a downtown project are legal residents.

He said Social Security numbers given by some of American Terrazzo's workers did not match with their names. The Texas-based company is working on the $60 million-plus redevelopment of the Newton Auditorium.

American Terrazzo partner Brent Flabiano said all his men had filled out government forms saying they are legal workers. He added, however, that the company doesn't do "in-depth background checks."

The company is reviewing Gallagher's letter, he said.

The auditor's office began examining the company earlier this year after finding evidence that it might be paying some employees wages that fell below prevailing Denver rates. City ordinances since the 1950s have required contractors to pay prevailing wages, said auditor spokesman Denis Berckefeldt.

The city is withholding a $2.3 million payment to the project's general contractor until American Terrazzo shows that it has corrected the alleged wage underpayments.

Flabiano said the dispute was over laborer classifications.

The company would pay any wages owed, he said.

But even before that could be finalized, the auditor's office began checking the Social Security numbers of American Terrazzo workers.

After the city could not confirm a match between the numbers and the workers' names, Gallagher sent a letter asking that the company explain the discrepancies.

Gallagher's letter said it is not the "within our purview, or generally our ability" for the city to determine the legal status of subcontractor employees.

However, he added that he had an obligation to notify contractors if he had questions about the "immigration and legitimate work status" of workers getting paid with city funds.

Berckefeldt said the city research involving American Terrazzo was troublesome, but did not prove that American Terrazzo was employing illegal workers. Alternative explanations for non-matching Social Security numbers are possible, he said.

Flabiano said he is hoping for such an innocent explanation.

"We've been here a long time," he said. "We're not going to do anything illegal to jeopardize our reputation."

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