The Deadline is Here for Federal Contractors to Start Paying at least $15 an Hour

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

January 31, 2022
Courtney Buble

This comes as a “record number” of states and localities are increasing their minimum wages in 2022.

President Biden’s $15 hourly minimum wage for employees of federal contractors officially took effect on Sunday.

Biden announced this initiative shortly after taking office in January 2021, then followed up with an executive order in April. The final regulation, which was issued in November, will be indexed for inflation. It also eliminates the tipped minimum wage for federal contractors by 2024, ensures workers with disabilities don’t earn a sub-minimum wage and protects outfitters and guides working on federal lands, reversing a policy from the Trump administration.

“The $15 minimum wage required by Executive Order 14026 applies only to contracts entered into, renewed or extended (pursuant to an exercised option or otherwise) on or after Jan. 30, 2022,” Labor Department spokesperson Edwin Nieves told Government Executive on Thursday. “Despite recent litigation, the DOL is proceeding with the implementation of [the executive order].”

Government Executive reported on one legal challenge in December. The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado denied the plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction on the rule on Jan. 24 and they appealed that decision last Wednesday.

“Contracting agencies will need to take appropriate implementing steps to ensure that covered contracts comply with the executive order’s requirements by, for example, incorporating the relevant contract clause into covered contracts,” Nieves continued.

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Council moves to put a stop to wage theft

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2022
BY JO CLIFTON

Austin is taking a step toward joining El Paso and Houston in punishing employers that engage in wage theft, with a resolution City Council approved unanimously on Thursday. A dozen people signed up to tell Council members to approve the resolution, which was sponsored by Council Member Ann Kitchen.

The resolution directs City Manager Spencer Cronk to create a system for the city to receive complaints from workers about construction employers who fail to pay wages owed to employees, fail to maintain payroll records or improperly classify employees as independent contractors. Staff members are expected to come back to Council with an ordinance establishing criminal penalties and a civil complaint procedure relating to wage theft. …

District Attorney José Garza sent a letter to the mayor and Council urging them to approve the resolution. He noted that his office has launched an economic justice enforcement initiative, with some emphasis on deterring wage theft. However, he wrote, “As we have undertaken this initiative, it has become clear to us that there are not sufficient systems in place to support wage theft victims or deter these legal violations from recurring. We need additional partners in this work. I am hopeful that this resolution presents an opportunity for our office to deepen its collaboration with the city and strategize how we can strengthen avenues available for wage theft victims to seek justice.”

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U.S. Labor Agencies Strike Deal to Share Enforcement Information

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Jan. 6, 2022
Bloomberg Law

  • Agreement involves Labor Department, federal labor board
  • Effort targets cases involving misclassification, retaliation

The U.S. Department of Labor’s wage regulator and the National Labor Relations Board have struck an agreement to collaborate on investigations and share information on potential violations of law, specifically targeting independent contractor misclassification and retaliation against workers.

Their new memorandum of understanding, made public Thursday, will create a formal referral process for violations of federal labor and employment laws, making it easier for the government to pursue employers who have breached laws enforced by both agencies, Jessica Looman, acting administrator of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, said in an exclusive interview.

“This MOU allows us to have that formal referral process back and forth between the two agencies, so that we can help the worker get to the place where they need to be and have their rights enforced, as opposed to relying on the worker to have to try to navigate the government system on their own,” Looman said.

The agreement will take effect immediately at the WHD. Looman said the agency will review its current investigations for cases that may have potential overlap with the federal labor board.

The NLRB and the WHD will work together to create a system to share information in an effort to “maximize” and “improve” enforcement, according to the agreement, which was signed in early December.

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Pennsylvania returns over $3.5 million in wages to wronged workers in 2021

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Monday, January 3rd 2022
By Kurt Martone

HARRISBURG, PA. (WENY) — The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry investigated over 4,000 alleged labor law violations requested from Pa. workers in 2021. The department returned over $3 million worth of missed wages to workers across the Commonwealth.

“Pennsylvania workers are entitled to every dollar they earn, and that’s why the department’s Bureau of Labor Law Compliance works so hard to hold employers accountable when they wrongfully withhold wages or violate any of Pennsylvania’s labor laws,” said Jennifer Berrier, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

WENY reached out to the Department of Labor and Industry to find the amount of lost wages given to residents of Bradford and Tioga counties.

Since 2015, the department has collected over $38 million in unlawfully held wages for workers in Pennsylvania.

BY THE NUMBERS:

The bureau returned over $2 million to workers employed by 900 employers in violation of the Wage Payment and Collection Law.

One million dollars was returned to workers whose employers violated the Prevailing Wage Act.

The other, over $500,000, in missed wages was returned to workers whose employers violated the Minimum Wage Act.

(See Article)