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Wage theft a problem across industries, study says (NV)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By: Bailey Schulz
Las Vegas Review-Journal
June 3, 2019 – 7:22 am

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Wage theft is a recurring problem found in a range of industries across the state, according to a 2018 study. Today’s tight labor market isn’t expected to help.

Nevada’s findings

Nevada Labor Commissioner Shannon Chambers said wage theft cases – instances where a company tries to raise profits by forcing employees to work off the clock or not paying them for overtime work – have been on the rise in Nevada over the past four years. But that doesn’t necessarily mean more companies are engaging in illegal practices.
“We are receiving more claims,” Chambers said. “Part of that is because our economy is improving again, and there are more people in the workforce.”

Back wages on the rise

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division collected an average of $835,000 for workers per day in back wages – the difference between what an employee was paid and the amount that employee should have been paid.

 

The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported that unemployment in Nevada dropped to 4 percent in April, the lowest in 13 years.

Nevada isn’t the only state facing wage theft disputes, according to a 2018 study by national policy resource center Good Jobs First.

(Read More)

State can protect workers and honest business from wage theft (NY)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

June 07, 2019 07:00 AM
Richard Blum

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This is not an isolated problem but one that affects low-income workers throughout New York. Wage theft also undermines honest businesses that are forced to compete with rivals who cut corners and cheat their workers. The bad apples game the system to deprive our clients of their legal wages and businesses of an even playing field.

It is estimated that each year workers in New York are unlawfully underpaid by about $1 billion. These violations disproportionately affect female, black, Hispanic and immigrant workers and those with limited educations.

A proposal in the Legislature would correct this. The bill, Securing Wages Earned Against Theft, or SWEAT (A.486/S.2844), will provide workers with legal tools to ensure that their employers will pay them what a court orders. It will also help honest businesses compete.

The legislation would:

* Allow all workers to put a temporary lien on the property of an employer that fails to pay wages, similar to the liens that protect workers in Wisconsin and Maryland.

* Make it easier for workers to attach an employer’s assets at the start of litigation before the property can be sold or transferred, using the standard currently employed in other states, including Connecticut.

* Improve the procedures for holding the largest shareholders of privately held corporations and members of limited liability companies personally liable for wage theft. Current law allows for them to be held accountable, but only if workers employ obscure, difficult procedures.

(Read More)

New York Legislature Passes Bill Allowing Employees to Place a Lien on Employer’s Property for Wage Claims (NY)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

The National Law Review
Monday, July 1, 2019

The New York Senate and Assembly recently passed Senate Bill S2844B to strengthen current laws for employees who are victim of wage theft to secure and collect unpaid wages for work already performed from their employers. This bill would amend five sections of the law (Lien Law; Labor Law; Attachment under the Civil Practice Law and Rules; the Business Corporations Law; and the Limited Liability Law). If signed by the Governor, this bill would create a broad right for any employee to obtain a lien on an employer’s property based on the allegation of a wage claim and would significantly increase employee power in such disputes.

This bill would expand on current lien remedies and create an “employee lien,” that would allow an employee who has a wage claim to place a lien on his or her employer’s interest in property (real or personal property) for the value of that employee’s wage claim, plus liquidated damages. “Wage claim” is defined as any claim constituting a violation of New York Labor Law § 170 (overtime), § 193 (improper deductions), § 196-d (gratuities) , or § 652 and § 673 (minimum wage). Wage claims also include claims for breach of employment contract where wages are not payed under the contract, and Federal minimum wage claims pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 206 and § 207. The employee’s lien cannot be placed on an employer’s deposit accounts or goods.

Notice of the lien must be filed within three years of the end of employment which gave rise to the wage claim. Real property notice must be filed in the clerk’s office of the county where the property is located. Personal property notice must be filed with a financing statement pursuant to section 9-501 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Employee’s liens may be filed by the employee or the New York State Department of Labor and the New York Attorney General for wage claims that are subject of their investigations, court actions or administrative agency actions. Notice of an employee’s lien must be served upon the employer within five days before or 30 days after filing notice. The lien is valid for one year unless extension is filed with the county clerk. If no action is commenced during the extension period, the lien will be automatically extinguished unless extended by a court order.

(Read More)

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Valley Stream contractor gets 30 days for wage theft (NY)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Posted June 11, 2019
LIHERALD.COM

Valley Stream contractor Vickram Mangru and his wife Gayatri of AVM Construction Corp. were sentenced on June 10 for their roles in failing to pay more than $280,000 in wages to laborers working on a publicly funded construction project in New York City, according to a news release from the New York attorney general.

Vickram was ordered to serve 30 days in jail, followed by three years of probation by Bronx County Supreme Court Justice James McCarty for a felony charge of failure to pay prevailing wages and benefits. Gayatari was sentenced to a conditional discharge as result of misdemeanor conviction on the same charge.

Both had pleaded guilty on Feb. 11, and have paid $80,000 in restitution to three workers. The couple still owes a remaining $202,000, and are barred from bidding on or being awarded a public works contract in New York for five years.

“New Yorkers who work on publicly-funded projects deserve to be paid a prevailing wage,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “Employers who underpay their employees, and attempt to evade wage laws have no business in the state of New York. My office will continue to ensure that all New Yorkers – no matter their trade – are paid a fair wage.”

Between December 2012 and February 2015, Vickram, owner of Vick Construction and operator of AVM Construction Corp. had reportedly failed to pay several of his employees prevailing wages, as required by state law, for construction projects and repair work at a number of public schools in the Bronx.

Vickram had reportedly paid his workers $120 and $160 a day for 40 to 50-hour work weeks, which falls far below the prevailing wage schedules set for publicly funded projects of that nature, the release read. To hide the underpayments, he falsified certified payroll records and reports submitted to the New York City Department of Education to make it look as if he were following the required prevailing wage schedules.

The city comptroller had initially barred the couple from being awarded public contracts after discovering the under payments, but referred the case to state prosecutors when it was found that they had created a new company in an attempt to continue operating in the city.

State prosecutors picked up the case after the city comptroller had barred the couple from being awarded public contracts, and then found that they had created another company to continue doing business, and was allegedly still committing labor violations.

(See Article)

Case study links inexperience to injuries in Tennessee construction industry (TN)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Safety & Health Magazine
May 29, 2019

Knoxville, TN – Nearly half of the construction workers in Tennessee who were injured over a recent two-year period had been on the job less than a year, according to a recent case study report from the Center for Construction Research and Training – as known as CPWR.

Analyzing more than 9,000 statewide workers’ compensation claims for injuries that occurred in 2014 and 2015, researchers at the Construction Industry Research and Policy Center at the University of Tennessee found that 44.5% of the claims were from workers who had less than a year of experience in construction, while 30.1% were from workers who had less than six months of experience.

The biggest takeaway is “the persistence of this injury-tenure relationship across time,” Edward Taylor, study author and CIRPC executive director, told Safety & Health. “We saw in the literature that 100 years ago, a steel company reported that their employees with less than 30 days tenure had an injury rate of 12 times the rest of their employees. Here we are in 2019 and the results of our study show, in construction, 44.5% of injuries occur to employees in their first year.”

According to 2016 national data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24% of construction workers are injured during their first year on the job. Likewise, the report notes that the findings are comparable to data in states with similar populations. In Washington, over the same two years, 47.5% of injuries occurred among construction workers who had less than a year on the job, while 37.1% of the injured had been on a job six months or less. In Ohio, those percentages were 45.6 and 33.6, respectively.

Injuries to the lower back, finger, shoulder and hand were most common – accounting for 55.8% of the top 10 body parts injured.

Taylor and his colleagues recommend that employers put additional emphasis on the onboarding of new employees, along with pairing up new workers with an experienced, trusted mentor. “It’s especially important that [workers] learn to recognize hazards as part of that educational process,” he said.

In addition, wearing personal protective equipment can help reduce the number of eye and hand injuries, along with cuts. “Those might be easily preventable,” Taylor said.

(See Article)

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Krizek presses for prevailing wage law in Virginia (VA)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

June 28, 2019
By State Del. Paul Krizek (44th District)

Virginia is one of just eight states that has never had a prevailing wage law. A majority of states do.

Construction workers on projects covered by prevailing wage laws must be paid the minimum “prevailing” wage and benefit levels that vary by occupation and geographical areas.

The best known prevailing wage law is the federal Davis-Bacon Act, a bipartisan bill from 1931 that applies to all construction with $2,000 or more in federal funding.

Previously, I introduced a prevailing wage bill in the General Assembly in an effort to prevent low bidders on state works projects from undermining local area wages.

Though it didn’t pass, I expect that with a majority democratic General Assembly after the November elections, such a bill has much better odds of passage.

That is a good thing for not just local construction workers who won’t have to worry about their wages going down, but also to our Virginia economy, which will benefit because it supports local businesses with increased productivity, safety and quality workmanship, and provides the taxpayer with high-quality public works projects.

Three things can happen when big construction jobs are bid out without a prevailing wage. First, cut-rate contractors from out of state, or out of the country, may come in hiring less-trained workers and undermining the local market rate, thus bringing down wages for all local workers similarly situated; second, they take taxpayer dollars back to their home states; and finally, they do not invest in worker training.

The old argument that a prevailing wage raises overall construction costs is a fallacy, as higher construction wages are often offset by greater productivity, better technologies, and other employer savings, such as through increased safety.

In fact, in Ohio, “The Economic, Fiscal, and Social Effects of Ohio’s Prevailing Wage Law” peer-reviewed research study, which took 16 years, showed that there was no increase in construction costs based on their prevailing wage.

Furthermore, prevailing wage laws increase the supply of apprenticeships and worker skills. Because, without a prevailing wage law, most construction workers change employers when they move from project to project, so employers have little incentive to invest in worker training.

Finally, worker safety increases because the skilled workers know what they are doing on dangerous work sites, and that saves on workers’ compensation costs and work hours lost to injuries.

The solution is to pay a prevailing wage rate that would be determined by the Commissioner of Labor for public contracts on the basis of applicable prevailing wage rate determinations made by the U.S. Secretary of Labor under the provisions of the federal Davis-Bacon Act.

Then, these workers will have increased consumer purchasing power and spend the bulk of their money in our local community.

They pay taxes locally and at the state level, so it’s no surprise that states with strong prevailing wage laws have more money for schools, healthcare facilities, infrastructure, public safety, and vital services for our communities and our fellow citizens.

Enacting a prevailing wage will grow the economic pie for all Virginians. I’m proud to have patroned this legislation and I look forward to its passage, as it is a top priority of mine.

(See Article)

REGISTRATION IS NOW AVAILABLE – 2019 NAFC National Conference, September 22-24, 2019 – Boston, MA

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

June 2019

It is time to register for this year’s 2019 NAFC National Conference to be held on September 22 – 24, 2019, at the Sheraton Boston Hotel in the heart of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. NAFC’s National Conference is attended by several hundred participants from across the nation, including representatives from labor organizations, responsible contractors, fair contracting compliance organizations as well as researchers, academics, attorneys and officials from federal, state and local governments.

PLEASE NOTE THE NEW FORMAT FOR THE 2019 NAFC NATIONAL CONFERENCE – AND REVIEW THE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS BEFORE MAKING YOUR TRAVEL RESERVATIONS

The 2019 NAFC Conference has been extended. We have added additional workshops on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 22nd – the day of arrival) and extended the Conference to include a full day session on Tuesday (Sept. 24th – the final day). Please review the Schedule of Events drop-down menu to ensure that your travel reservations allow you to attend the complete lineup of plenary speakers, panels, workshops and networking opportunities. In addition, please use the Registration & Hotel Reservation drop-down menu to register for the Conference and reserve your hotel. Conference registration and hotel reservations must be made online through NAFC’s 2019 Conference website. Paper Conference registrations and hotel reservations will not be available this year.

The 2019 NAFC National Conference will be the largest and most successful Conference to date. NAFC President Rocco Davis, the Board of Directors and staff have put together a lineup of dynamic speakers and comprehensive workshops to assist you in leveling the playing field in publicly funded construction and promoting responsible and efficient construction at the local, state and federal levels. National experts on construction industry issues will present the latest research and programs which promote the high road construction market, joint apprenticeship plans and pathways for underserved communities and veterans in the construction industry. Leading fair contracting practitioners will describe innovative tools and strategies to ensure enforcement and compliance with the wide variety of laws which regulate public construction, including prevailing wage laws.

Stay tuned for further details and contact NAFC’s Administrator with any questions you may have.

(Conference Details & Registration)

*Disclaimer: Registration fees will be refunded upon cancellation if notice is provided to NAFC by September 6, 2019. Participation in the NAFC Conference is subject to the approval of NAFC’s Board of Directors.

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Labor says study proves ending prevailing wage was a mistake (WV)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By MetroNews
May 21, 2019 at 2:07 PM

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The organization which represents skilled tradesmen in West Virginia believes a new study out of the University of Missouri-Kansas City is clear evidence the removal of the prevailing wage requirement in West Virginia was a mistake.

The Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation released the findings from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute which examined West Virginia’s state funded construction costs three years after the legislature eliminated a requirement for payment of a prevailing wage on state funded construction jobs.

“The report finds there has been no savings,” said ACT Foundation Executive Director Steve White on MetroNews Talkline. “This experiment to bring savings has failed.”

Supporters of the removal of the prevailing wage requirement claimed the action would enable to the state to enjoy enough savings to build five new schools for the cost of three. White said the data from the study found quite the opposite. He said the study found no savings to taxpayers, despite diminished wages for the laborers on the job.

“Building four schools for the price of three or five for the price of three would be a 25 percent savings,” White said. “It’s totally untrue.”

White said many of their members have lost not only wages, but also lost benefits because of the provision’s removal.

“When you compare it to surrounding states, they’ve lost even more,” he said. “The folks in surrounding states that have prevailing wage have seen modest increases. You’ve seen huge cuts in wages and benefits.”

White and his organization plan to use the data to build their case for the legislature to reinstate the prevailing wage law in the next legislative session. White said the provision has done more harm than good, despite what it was touted to have been in the beginning.

“We want good paying jobs and we want people to have good benefits,” he said. “There’s also cost to the taxpayer when people are not paid and not productive and don’t have those benefits.”

(Read More)

(See PDF of Study)

 

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New West Virginia study finds repeal of prevailing wage saved taxpayers no money (WV)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

by Jake Jarvis
May 21, 2019

CHARLESTON – Officials with the West Virginia State Building Trades Council and Affiliated Construction Trades say lawmakers should consider reinstating the prevailing wage law in light of a new study.

The study, published this month by a researcher from Missouri University and the Midwest Policy Institute, found that repeal of the prevailing wage law “had negative impacts for West Virginia’s construction workers, contractors and communities while failing to deliver any meaningful cost savings.”

Steve White, director of the ACT, said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon that the promised results of repealing the prevailing wage law have not been realized.

The law required that workers on state-funded construction projects be paid a so-called prevailing wage, which was calculated by state officials after determining the usual pay rate on such projects in West Virginia.

Proponents of repealing the 1933 law said it would reduce construction costs, but opponents said repealing it would allow out-of-state companies to come to West Virginia and undercut companies here by bidding far below them.

Luther Lasure, director of the Kanawha Valley Builders Association, said that’s exactly what happened.

He said there have been more out-of-state contractors winning bids for state-funded projects. And he said said those out-of-state companies don’t have as much of an incentive to do quality work, since they don’t actually live in the community.

Lasure said that, as uncomfortable as it is to admit it in a press conference full of union officials and supporters, he’s a member of the Republican Party, the party that repealed the prevailing wage. Despite this, he said he believes in listening to the data and the data shows the repeal has hurt workers.

“The taxpayers are not saving any money, but wages have been cut dramatically,” White said.

White called on legislative leaders to “correct course” and reverse the “terrible mistake” they enacted with repealing prevailing wage in 2015.

(Read More)

A Massive Win For Building Trades Workers As Prevailing Wage Law Passes Legislature (NH)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

5-3-19
Posted by NH Labor News

The House of Representatives voted 213-140 yesterday to pass SB 271, which would require prevailing wages on state-funded public works projects.

“All workers employed by or on behalf of any contractor, subcontractor, or hiring agent engaged in the construction of public works for the state of New Hampshire or any agency, officer, board, commission, or authorized agent of the state shall be paid a wage of not less than the minimum prevailing hourly rate of wages and benefits for work of a similar character in the county in which the work is performed.”

This new law would ensure that workers are paid fairly for the work they are doing and mandates payroll requirements to ensure that workers are being paid properly. Along with ensuring proper payments to workers the bill provides protections for the state agencies to withhold payment for contractors who fail to meet the prevailing wage requirement and bars them from future contracts.

Representative Brian Sullivan (D-Grantham), Chair of the House Labor Committee, released the following statement:

“Reestablishing a prevailing wage law in New Hampshire will ensure that construction workers receive fair wages on jobs funded by New Hampshire tax dollars. Prevailing wage standards assure that state construction projects are awarded to contractors that produce efficient, high quality work, and help keep local tax dollars in the state, going to local workers and local companies. It is past time that New Hampshire joins its New England neighbors in enacting this common sense policy, which assures competitive wages are paid on taxpayer-funded projects.”

Senator Feltes (D-Concord), the prime sponsor of SB 271, released the following statement after the vote:

“Prevailing wage laws ensure that construction workers receive fair wages and help keep New Hampshire taxpayer dollars going to local workers and local companies. It’s great to see the Senate take the first step to make tax dollars work for New Hampshire working families by joining our New England neighbors to enact this common sense policy.”

(Read More)