US consulate builder in Milan to pay $35 million over labour probe

By Emilio Parodi

MILAN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - US builder ‌Caddell Construction has formally ​committed to pay €30.941 ​million ($35.24 million) in a probe into alleged worker exploitation at the site of the new US consulate in Milan, a document seen by Reuters showed.

The Alabama-based construction giant undertook to pay nearly €20 million to workers in ‌overtime, accommodation reimbursements and compensation for non-material damages, according to a document submitted by the firm to ⁠Milan prosecutors. It did not admit any liability.

Caddell did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement issued in June, Caddell said it was proactively cooperating ‌with judicial authorities and was "committed to treating ‌and paying workers fairly".

Italy's labour minister described the operation as "one of the most significant crackdowns on labour exploitation in recent years".

"This outcome strengthens Italy's reputation internationally and sends a clear message... that the state does not abandon its most vulnerable workers", ​Labour Minister Marina Calderone said in a statement on Sunday.

The company specialises in large-scale projects, including contracts for US embassies and military facilities.

Caddell Construction's Italian unit was placed under investigation for alleged labour exploitation and put under judicial administration on May 29, ⁠a measure upheld by a judge two weeks later.

Milan prosecutors and Italy's Carabinieri police accused the company of recruiting workers in India through an intermediary based in New Delhi ​and employing them on "exhausting shifts, underpaid, without safety protections and under the constant threat of dismissal".

The company has also agreed to pay more than €7 million to Italy's social security agency INPS and almost €4 ​million to the Labour Inspectorate, the document showed.

In the letter to Milan ‌prosecutors, signed by Caddell Construction executive officer Michael Angelo Ranieri and reviewed by Reuters, the US company stressed that its commitments did not amount to any admission of wrongdoing.

"Furthermore, they do not imply any ⁠acceptance of the legal and factual assessments made by the authorities involved," it added.

CASE AGAINST COMPANY SET TO BE DISMISSED AFTER PAYMENT

Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said the agreement involves the regularisation of around 500 workers, the recognition by the Italian state of residence permits for 270 ⁠foreign workers and unemployment benefits for 60 workers who had been dismissed.

One of the two sources said that, once the payments had been made, Milan ​prosecutors were expected to seek the dismissal of the case against Caddell's Italian unit.

The source added that prosecutors were expected to pursue plea bargain agreements with two Caddell executives arrested as part of the investigation.

Construction on the US consulate in Milan started in 2022. The contract was worth almost $210 ‌million and work was initially scheduled to finish in 2025, but this date was subsequently put back to 2028.

A US State Department spokesperson told Reuters in June that US law enforcement was cooperating ‌with the Italian authorities, and that "the US government does not tolerate labour exploitation".

This is the latest in a series of labour exploitation investigations conducted ⁠in recent years by Milan prosecutor Paolo Storari.

The probes ‌have forced companies to grant fuller employment ​rights to more than 60,000 workers and enabled authorities to recover more than €1 billion ($1.1 billion), while also fuelling a heated debate over whether Italy's judiciary is overstepping its role.

($1 = 0.8779 euros)

(Reporting by Emilio Parodi, editing ‌by Alex Richardson)

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