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US Department of Labor recovers more than $947k from Oregon federal contractors who denied full wages, benefits to 213 construction workers

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Wage and Hour Division

September 21, 2023

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $947,547 from four Oregon contractors who failed to pay fringe benefits, prevailing and overtime wages to 213 employees working on federally funded construction projects in Oregon and Washington.

The recovery follows several investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division and the discovery of violations of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Specifically, federal investigators found the following:

G Builders LLC, a Damascus wood framing company, classified employees incorrectly and failed to pay them the appropriate prevailing wages and fringe benefits for the type of work they did while building affordable housing units at U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-funded projects in Gresham and Eugene, and in Vancouver, Washington.
Joshua Legacy Painting and Restoration LLC, a Hillsboro construction contractor, did not pay workers the correct prevailing wages, fringe benefits and overtime while building affordable housing for farmworkers at the federally funded Colonia Paz complex in Lebanon.

Emagineered Solutions Inc., a Redmond heavy construction contractor and equipment manufacturer, incorrectly classified workers for the type of work they did and failed to pay them proper prevailing wages and overtime while working on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-funded project at the John Day Lock and Dam in the Columbia River near Rufus.
Reyes Construction LLC, a Bend roofing services contractor, failed to pay employees corresponding prevailing wages and fringe benefits while working on a residential construction project in Ontario with funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In total, the division’s investigations helped 213 workers recover $846,440 in prevailing wages and fringe benefits, and $101,106 in overtime wages. The department also assessed G Builders $10,000 in penalties because the company violated similar federal labor laws in 2016 and 2021.

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Healey, Campbell push legislation to fight wage theft

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

State House News Service
September 20, 2023

Vulnerable workers, including immigrants who do not know their rights or are fearful of employer retaliation, could gain stronger protections against pervasive wage theft under legislation that is supported by Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell and Gov. Maura T. Healey but has failed to win over Democrats on Beacon Hill for years.

Campbell on Sept. 19 publicly voiced her support for proposals that would strengthen her office’s authority to crack down on wage theft and protect Massachusetts from lost economic growth, jobs, and taxes. The latest version of the bill is being billed as a compromise between labor and business.

Legislation sponsored by Rep. Daniel Donahue and Sen. Sal DiDomenico (H. 1868 / S. 1158) would allow Campbell to file a civil action seeking injunctive relief for damages, lost wages, and other benefits for workers. Campbell also would have the authority to investigate wage theft complaints and seek civil remedies for violations, as well as to issue stop-work orders against contractors or businesses who are violating wage theft provisions.

“Access to a decent paying job and benefits is absolutely essential to ensuring economic security for individuals and their families,” Campbell told the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development during a hearing on Sept. 19. “We know passing a strong, and smart, and effective wage bill is crucial.”

Some $1 billion in wages are stolen each year in the commonwealth by employers and contractors, and workers recoup less than 2 percent of their stolen pay, according to data from the Wage Theft Coalition led by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. When DiDomenico first filed his bill in 2015, stolen wages totaled roughly $300 million, he told the committee.

 

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