Contractors using laborers from a Philadelphia church shelter to renovate Boston’s Marriott Copley Place hotel are under investigation by state authorities for potential violations of wage laws and other worker protections, according to people briefed on the matter.

Attorney General Martha Coakley is investigating whether workers from Victory Outreach International, a church that provides shelter and rehabilitation services to people with drug and alcohol problems, were brought into the state to be used as cheap labor for the renovation project, according to those familiar with the case.

State authorities - Coakley’s office among them - are trying to crack down on illegal labor practices in construction and other industries. In February, a new human trafficking law will take effect that calls for up to 20 years in prison for people found guilty of importing workers into the state for illegal purposes.

A Victory Outreach pastor in Philadelphia, Joseph Bishop, said his church’s laborers were interviewed by Massachusetts investigators Wednesday about their working conditions at the Marriott, which is among the city’s largest luxury hotels, with 1,100 rooms.

Bishop did not know how much the laborers were being paid but said the church has sent multiple groups of workers from its shelter in Philadelphia to the Boston Marriott.

Based near San Diego, Victory Outreach is an evangelical church with more than 700 churches and centers in the United States and abroad. On its website, the church describes itself as a Christian organization “called to the task of evangelizing and discipling the hurting people of the world,’’ according to its website, and it also provides shelter, rehabilitation services, and employment opportunities to members struggling with substance abuse, poverty, and other issues.