State fails to pay snow plow drivers

PROVIDENCE, RI (WPRI) - The October 2011 nor'easter took all of Rhode Island by surprise, striking the day before Halloween.

The state called in more than 80 private plow drivers to help clear the roads.

Drivers who claim they did the work expected of them.

But it wasn't until January when Call 12 for Action started receiving phone calls from some of those plow drivers who said they have never been paid.

We also received an anonymous letter from even more private plow contractors.

They say that almost 60 days after the storm, after all their work was complete, still no paychecks.

"This is no way to treat hard working, dedicated men.  How can the state not pay us for our hard work?"

That's when they Called 12 for Action to look into what the delay was.

"Our normal process is we like to pay within 30 days."

We went right to the source and spoke to the Department of Transportation.

We're told that the storm even took them by surprise.

"Industry wide we were all surprised to see snow in October.  We handled it but there was paperwork that had to follow up behind that took a little time," says Joe Baker, Deputy Administrator of the Highway & Bridge Division.

The DOT says as of right now, all plow drivers have been paid and going forward they can expect to get their checks within 30 days from when they work.