AP News53%
Foreign workers on US Consulate project in Italy complain of labor abuses 28%
By Colleen Barry0% Niccolò Lupone0%
6/10/2026, 10:25:43 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 22 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Appeal to Emotion, and Availability Heuristic, with Anecdotal as the most egregious example at 21.1% saturation with 161 hits. Analysis detected 1,126 faulty-reasoning hits from 763 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 38.8% and a BS Rank of 28% (15,873 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 72.50% of the article peer group.
MILAN (AP) — Foreign workers building a sprawling $350 million American Consulate in Milan were paid less than $2 an hour after being promised fair wages, according to Associated Press interviews with five former employees and a review of their employment letters and pay stubs.
Italian prosecutors are investigating Montgomery, Alabama-based Caddell Construction, a major builder of U.S. diplomatic missions.
Two of its managers in Italy were arrested this month on suspicion of labor exploitation, one while boarding a flight to leave the country and another planning to flee, prosecutors said.
The investigation is led by prosecutor Paolo Storari, who also has spearheaded probes into sweatshops supplying luxury brands.
So far only Caddell has been named as a target, not any of its subcontractors.
The consulate probe was launched about six months ago and involves some 70 workers, mostly from India.
Prosecutors allege Caddell illegally deducted room and board from wages and forced them to work 10-hour days, six days a week.
Some were paid as little as 500 euros (less than $580) monthly after room and board were deducted, prosecutors said.
Minimum wage for construction workers in Milan starts at 13.39 euros (over $15) an hour, according to the Cassa Edile benefits fund.
Caddell and the U.S.
State Department said they are investigating the allegations and cooperating with Italian authorities.
“The U.S. government does not tolerate labor exploitation,” the department said in a statement.
“Caddell said it was “fully cooperating” with Italian authorities and conducting its own “comprehensive inquiry into this matter to ensure all our global subcontractors and consultancies are in compliance with all labor standards and legal requirements.”
“Caddell is committed (to) treating and paying workers fairly.
We will continue to work with authorities in good faith to ensure the welfare of those who work on this important project,” the company said in a statement.
More than a decade ago, Caddell paid millions to the U.S. government to settle allegations it made false claims to gain access to government incentives.
Caddell did not reply to a request for comment on that case.
They said they were not paid anything close to that and were threatened by human resources personnel at the job site after they questioned management.
“When you go to the office to ask any question, you are being told, ‘Either you work or you will be returned to your country.
That’s the amount you are supposed to be paid,’’’ one Kenyan electrician said.
He added that he was paid just 800 euros (less than $925) a month after being promised 2,300 euros ($2,660).
Another Kenyan electrician said he was threatened with defamation after presenting an AI summary of Italian labor law and was told the 25,000 euros in the employment letter was “for visa purposes,” not a promise of payment.
“I believe in justice,” one said.
“Also the workers there should not be afraid.
They should come and speak up.”
All five of the workers who spoke to the AP, ranging in age from their late 20s to early 50s, said they were fired without cause this year.
One of them said he returned from visiting family in Kenya to find that he no longer had a job or place to stay.
Four of the workers were trained electricians, including the Indian worker whose resume showed he had more than a decade of experience working for other companies in Persian Gulf countries.
The Indian worker said he was promised a monthly salary of 2,500 euros (nearly $3,000).
Instead, he had a pay slip showing his actual pay amounted to around 500 euros (less than $580) per month.
It listed an hourly wage of 1.55 euros ($1.80).
The Kenyans said they reached out to authorities after learning of the investigation.
Caddell is a major diplomatic contractor
Caddell became a leader in building U.S. diplomatic missions when the State Department launched a major security upgrade after the 1998 bombings of U.S.
Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya killed more than 250 people.
“Very few contractors can meet the strict requirements to even bid on secure work necessary for diplomatic facility projects,” Caddell said on its website marking its 40th anniversary in 2023.
At that point, the firm counted 39 projects in its embassy portfolio valued at $7.4 billion.
It has added four projects since then.
The Milan consulate campus is being built on a 10-acre (40,000-square meter) site at a former shooting range.
The current U.S.
Consulate is in a high-rise building designed by acclaimed Italian architect Gio Ponti.
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.