Two former “deconstruction” workers for Second Chance have accused the Baltimore-based nonprofit of wage theft in a lawsuit.

The plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit filed Monday said they were misclassified as independent contractors and not paid overtime and other wages for their work deconstructing old structures, from which Second Chance resells salvaged materials and uses the proceeds for workforce development programs.

Second Chance operates out of a huge warehouse near M&T Bank Stadium in South Baltimore, where it sells old building materials and furnishings and offers job training to the unemployed in the warehouse, retail operations and deconstruction projects.

“Although Second Chance presents itself to the public as an ‘innovative social enterprise’ that provides ‘livable wages,’ it in fact engages in wage theft by depriving many employees, including Plaintiffs, of their hard-earned overtime pay and other required wages,” said the lawsuit, which is seeking class action status for the plaintiffs.

The nonprofit’s founder and CEO, Mark Foster, said in an email that the nonprofit was unable to comment in detail, but that its leaders “vigorously disagree with these allegations and are committed to responding to them through the proper legal channels.”

“Second Chance remains steadfast in its mission to serve the community and our focus continues to be on supporting and positively impacting the individuals we serve,” he said, adding that the organization’s leaders “appreciate the continued trust and support of our donors, partners, and beneficiaries as all the facts and circumstances become known.”

Plaintiffs Manuel Portillo, a Baltimore County resident, and Francis Betancourth, of Carroll County, traveled to homes in the mid-Atlantic and beyond to remove furniture, flooring, cabinets, windows, fixtures and other materials from homes, according to the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. They then salvaged materials and prepared the homes to be rehabbed or demolished.

Portillo, Betancourth and dozens of other workers were employed jointly by Second Chance and 300 Painting and Remodeling LLC, a subcontractor owned by Jose Rivas Mendez, the filing says. But Foster personally hired the plaintiffs, and Second Chance controlled their schedules and work sites, requiring workers to wear vests and drive vans bearing the Second Chance brand.

“It appears that Second Chance is claiming it’s not responsible for these workers, and that the workers are not Second Chance’s employees under law,” said David J. Rodwin, a plaintiffs’ attorney with The Public Justice Center, in an interview. “But we don’t think that’s right.”

“These workers suffered because they weren’t paid correctly for all the work they did,” in a job that paid just over minimum wage, said Rodwin, whose legal organization is representing the plaintiffs alongside D.C.-based employment attorney Sally Abrahamson.

The lawsuit alleges that Betancourth and several deconstruction crew members also were assigned to perform gardening, landscaping and other services at Foster’s personal home in Towson at least six times.

The plaintiffs are seeking unpaid wages and damages.

Portillo worked from January 2021 through August 2023, while Betancourth was hired around 2017 by Second Chance, then employed jointly by the nonprofit and the subcontractor from around 2018 through June 4.

The lawsuit says Second Chance unlawfully retaliated against Betancourth, firing her shortly after she approached employers about entering into pre-suit settlement discussions.

Because of the wage shortfall, the lawsuit says, both Portillo and Betancourth were forced to borrow money from family. Portillo fell behind on rent, while Betancourth needed help to cover food and child care costs.

The lawsuit accuses Second Chance of trying to boost revenues by funneling labor through a subcontractor that exists mostly to supply Second Chance with workers. Doing so allowed Second Chance to illegally misclassify plaintiffs as independent contractors to deny wages required by law, the complaint says.

The plaintiffs say they worked more than 40 hours a week but were not paid overtime at a time-and-a-half rate. They were told instead that under Second Chance policy, workers assigned to a contractor are not paid the overtime rate.

Non-driver workers also were not paid for time traveling between worksites in a single day, for trips less than 29 miles, the complaint says.

Rodwin said he will argue that under Maryland law, general contractors such as Second Chance are liable for any unpaid wages of employees of subcontractors, even those listed as independent contractors.

Second Chance has faced lawsuits connected to its deconstruction program in the past.

A lawsuit filed in October 2017 in Montgomery County Circuit Court but later dismissed had alleged that a Bethesda couple was misled about the program’s tax benefits. Even after the case was dropped, it resulted in a drop in donations of houses to the Second Chance program, Foster had told The Baltimore Sun.

The couple had bought a lot in 2013 on River Road that included a house they planned to demolish. They said in the lawsuit they expected a net benefit of $76,000 after donating money to Second Chance to pay for its deconstruction and then donating the salvaged materials to the nonprofit.

The couple, Nitin Gogtay and Kiran Dixit, had sought a class action lawsuit, which also named Fredericksburg, Virginia, appraisal firm NoVaStar Appraisals Inc., but a class never was certified.