NORTHAMPTON — Ten workers who say they faced unsafe conditions, where forced to buy supplies on their own dime and robbed of sick time and overtime pay, are preparing to take Eric Suher and his Iron Horse Entertainment Group to court.

Rose Bookbinder, a founder and organizer at the Pioneer Valley Workers Center in Northampton, said Thursday that she expects legal action soon because the Massachusetts statute of limitations is three years. Meaning employees are losing the right to claim back wages from longer than three years ago as time passes.

The office of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy said Thursday that it received eight complaints alleging wage theft against IHEG and have been in touch with the Pioneer Valley Workers Center regarding these complaints.

The Attorney General’s office issued private right of action letters for each complaint it received against Iron Horse, a spokeswoman for Healy said. The letters allow these workers to take their employer to court over their complaints. Without the letters, they would have had to wait 90 days after filing with the Attorney General’s office.

Healey’s office said it encouraged workers to attend an Attorney General’s wage theft clinic in Springfield to speak with a private attorney for free.

This summer, NEPR aired a report where 10 former employees went public saying they’d been mistreated while working for Suher and his Northampton music venues.

The workers said they were reluctant to go public fearing retribution form Suher or that they’d be frozen out of the Pioneer Valley performing arts scene.

Suher was accused of cheating them out of overtime by splitting work weeks among his different businesses so no one time slip added up to more than 40 hours; not providing breaks, but then deducting the half-hour’s pay; not providing sick time; not posting the worker’s rights notices common in most workplaces; and routinely being late with paychecks that he insisted on handing out in person.

On Thursday, Bookbinder added to the list of complaints saying now workers have come forward saying they faced unsafe working conditions like slippery steps, mold and mildew and were forced to buy their own supplies.

"People have pride in their work," she said. They are bartenders or restaurant servers."

Contacted Thursday, Suher — who rarely discusses even the most mundane business issues with reporters —once again declined to comment. This summer he denied the allegations without giving specifics and then cut the conversation short.

Suher owns the Calvin Theatre, Iron Horse Music Hall, The Basement and Pearl Street, all of Northampton, and the Mountain Park outdoor venue in Holyoke. He also owns six Northampton buildings that are at least partially vacant.

Northampton officials have sparred with Suher over the years Calvin Theatre sign and Suher’s habit of pocketing liquor licenses — taking them out and then never opening the establishment as a way of stifling competition.