AG fines telecom company contracted by SPS

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster obtained a consent judgment against a Crocker company for alleged violations of the state's prevailing wage law.

According to a news release from Koster's office, Advantage Telecom Inc. received the contract to install a communications and computer system for the Springfield R-XII School District. But a subsequent Division of Labor Standards review of payroll records found that the company underpaid 22 workers on the project.

As part of the judgment, Advantage Telecom agreed to comply with the law and pay civil penalties of $16,750 to the school district.

"Missouri's prevailing wage law has been clear for more than 50 years; prevailing wages must be paid on Missouri's public works and construction projects," Koster said in the release.

The case is the second settlement announced by Koster's office this week. On Tuesday, the office announced that Missouri and 11 other states obtained a settlement with private student-loan provider Student Loan Xpress after an 18-month investigation.

The company will forgive $112.7 million in debt, including $2.9 million in Missouri, for students who attended now-bankrupt helicopter training school Silver State Helicopters LLC. The school, which opened in 2002, went out of business and filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Many students owed Student Loan Xpress money for training and certifications they never received, according to a separate news release.

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