The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating local contractor Atlas Electric Co., which recently announced that it has suspended its construction presence in the Knoxville market and is moving its operations to eastern Europe.

The investigation comes as former Atlas employees have said they weren’t paid for work they did on behalf of the company, and some suppliers say Atlas owes them thousands of dollars. The company’s president, though, said the firm is doing its best to meet its financial obligations.

Earlier this month, Atlas — which was one of the largest electrical contractors in Knoxville — said it had suspended its Knoxville presence, blaming a tightening of credit and bond markets. Atlas said it has established an office in Kosovo, where it is hoping to do infrastructure rebuilding work.

Atlas’ troubles have sparked complaints from some former employees, though. Allen Huff, a journeyman electrician and ex-foreman for Atlas, said that on a Friday in November, he called Atlas to ask when his paycheck would be available, “and I was told there were no checks, that I needed to contact (the) Board of Labor.”

Huff said he later found out that his previous week’s check from Atlas had bounced, but only after he had paid some bills. The result, he said, is that he owes more than $600 to Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union, although he said the credit union is letting him wait on the payments and has waived fees associated with his own bounced checks.

“It’s just put me in a real financial bind … . I’m making it, but it’s kind of made life hard,” he said.

In an e-mail, U.S. Department of Labor spokesman Mike D’Aquino confirmed that the agency’s Wage and Hour Division has opened an investigation regarding Atlas, although he gave few details. In general, the spokesman said, the focus of such an investigation is to ensure that workers receive wages due to them.
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