Concrete manufacturing company in Jura heavily fined for undeclared work

The Lons-le-Saunier criminal court sentenced the manager of the Champagnole-based company to a fine of 160.000 euros and his company to a fine of the same amount, as well as a confiscatory seizure of 140.000 euros, the source said.

They were found guilty of "concealed work by understating hours worked on the pay slip" and "concealed work by understating turnover".

The company, which operates seven establishments, including five concrete plants in the Jura and the Doubs, had been the subject of a control by the labor inspectorate and the gendarmerie in December 2021.

Investigations revealed a system allowing customers to pay for their concrete orders in cash, in envelopes given directly to the drivers making the deliveries.

The damages to Urssaf amount to more than 200.000 euros.

During the hearing on October 15 before the criminal court of Lons-le-Saunier, the head of the company had partially acknowledged the facts. This close friend of the former president of the Jura departmental council, Clément Pernot (LR), had assured the court that his company was now "transparent" and that "cash payments are now refused", according to the daily newspaper Le Progrès.

In June 2023, Rusthul bétons was subject to a one-month administrative closure for acts of undeclared work, "an exceptional sanction" ordered by the prefect of Jura.

The prefecture services then highlighted the "very high proportion of employees concerned" and the "repetition of the offence over time".

In 2023, the government launched a plan to combat illegal work, to "better punish, better recover and repair damages linked to illegal work", which costs social security and unemployment insurance several billion each year.