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NJ Labor Department Returns $162K in Back Wages to Truck Drivers After Prevailing Wage Violation Investigation (NJ)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

NJ Labor Department Returns $162K in Back Wages to Truck Drivers
After Prevailing Wage Violation Investigation

May 22, 2019, 3:01 pm

TRENTON – An investigation conducted by the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s (NJDOL) Division of Wage and Hour Compliance revealed that Richard E. Pierson Construction, Inc. of Woodstown failed to properly pay its truck drivers $162,912.53, in accordance with the Garden State’s prevailing wage laws.

The inquiry, sparked by a formal complaint to NJDOL, determined that 48 of the company’s drivers were properly paid by the employer only when the drivers were on public works job sites, but were not paid the state’s prevailing wage for the time hauling materials to and from those job sites, which is against the law.

“Public contracting is a privilege – not a right, and New Jersey workers deserve to take home every single penny they have earned,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “We want employers to know that we take the state’s prevailing wage laws seriously, and we will continue to investigate these matters to protect our taxpayers’ investments.”

Richard E. Pierson Construction, Inc. fully cooperated with the investigation and, once advised of the law, agreed to perform a self-audit, repay the due back wages to employees, and pay administrative fees and penalties in excess of $58,000.

The New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act (N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.25 et seq.) establishes a prevailing wage level for workers engaged in public works projects to safeguard their efficiency and general well-being, and to protect workers – as well as employers – from the effects of serious and unfair competition. In New Jersey, these rates vary by county and type of work performed.

For more information on New Jersey’s wage and hour laws, please visit myworkrights.nj.gov.

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Public-works projects must pay prevailing wages (NY)

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OP-ED By John R. Durso
Posted May 23, 2019

Few public policies do more to build strong communities across our region than New York’s prevailing-wage law for public-works projects. It is a job-creating economic engine that puts members of our local communities to work and creates local wealth, revenue and investment. However, this useful public law has been undermined because the definition of public works has been blurred by the amalgamation of public and private financing. A bill passed in the State Assembly and awaiting action by the Senate would require that all Industrial Development Agency-funded projects pay prevailing wages, and would help to ensure that our tax dollars are creating careers with fair wages and benefits for Long Islanders who want to build lives here.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered a proposal in his Executive Budget to restore the application of prevailing wages to projects receiving public dollars. New York state was on the verge of restoring these protections as originally outlined by statute in 1897, and enshrined in the state Constitution in 1938, but unfortunately, this policy priority fell off the table.

Opponents of restoring prevailing-wage protections assume that higher construction wages directly correlate to higher project costs. This just isn’t true. The best-case scenario is they are drawing this conclusion based on flawed studies, and at worst they are deliberately misleading communities and elected officials to frame the public discourse for their own profit.

According to a state-funded study by Professor Fred B. Kotler of Cornell University, that conclusion is “simplistic and inaccurate.” It fails to account for the fact that labor costs are a small percentage of total project costs, and ignores the fact that higher-paid workers are often higher-skilled workers who find efficiencies and make fewer errors, resulting in fewer expensive change orders. “Construction workers’ wages should be factored into the overall value of the state’s investment in economic development projects,” Kotler wrote. “The prevailing wage law is itself an economic stimulus and can reasonably be considered as part of a broader economic development strategy for the state.”

According to the Economic Policy Institute, for every $1 spent under prevailing-rate laws, $1.50 is generated for our local economies. When workers earn more, they are able to spend more. Wage protections promote a more localized workforce, ensuring that Long Island residents benefit from our economic development investments. It is clear that holding public construction projects to prevailing rate standards brings wealth into communities. This, in turn, creates the virtuous cycle of local consumption and revenue for public services.

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John R. Durso is president of the Long Island Federation of Labor, representing 250,000 members of 160 AFL-CIO local unions, and president of Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW, which represents 15,000 working men and women in the retail and health care industries.

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Nassau legislators unanimously back Albany prevailing wage effort (NY)

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In a bipartisan move, the county’s lawmakers endorse efforts to pay union wages and benefits to construction workers on building projects that receive tax breaks.

By James T. Madore
Updated May 24, 2019 7:45 PM

The Nassau County Legislature has unanimously backed a move in Albany to pay union wages and benefits to construction workers on building projects that receive tax breaks.

The endorsement comes as supporters and opponents of the higher rate, known as the prevailing wage, attempt to reach a compromise before the State Legislature ends its regular session on June 19.

The endorsement also is a rare show of bipartisanship in Mineola and provides a boost to unions that say real estate developers should be compelled to pay the prevailing wage on projects that win taxpayer aid from state or local governments.

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The prevailing wage bill “will ensure that the taxpayer-funded subsidies we are using to spur development also create strong, middle-class jobs for Long Island construction workers,” the Nassau lawmakers said in a May 8 letter to state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers).

“It’s no secret that Long Island is an expensive place to live, and in Nassau County, the wages this legislation will codify give construction workers a quality of life they wouldn’t otherwise have,” states the letter signed by Presiding Officer Richard J. Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park), Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) and 17 other county lawmakers.

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Under current state law the prevailing wage must be paid to all workers, union and nonunion, on government-funded public-works projects such as roads, mass transit and schools. But that wage rate is not required for those employed on private construction projects aided by industrial development agencies or the state.

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New Memphis program encourages more students to pursue careers in construction (TN)

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BY LAURA FAITH KEBEDE
MAY 14, 2019

About 200 more Memphis students will be able to work toward certification in construction jobs next year thanks to a two-year state grant and an additional curriculum announced Tuesday.

The after-school program, known as Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training, or PACT, is Gov. Bill Lee’s latest push to train more high school students to enter careers straight out of high school in areas such as masonry, carpentry, landscaping, painting, plumbing, and construction technology.

“I’ve long known that there is a shortage of those skilled workers because we have left that part of education out of our public school system for decades,” said Lee, who ran a similar training program out of his family business in Williamson County.

“They have giftings and skills that college kids don’t, and yet we do very little to direct paths for them in successful careers,” he added.

The program is meant to help bridge the gap between young people looking for work and companies that can’t fill construction jobs. Memphis has the nation’s highest rate of youth not working or in school. As more building developments spring up, some companies have even turned down projects because they don’t have enough workers, according to local media reports. Memphis was named one of the fastest growing markets in construction in 2017 by the Associated General Contractors of America.

“Understanding what this program is about really gives me as the president of a company in the building industry a huge sigh of relief,” said Jennifer Ransom of The Ransomed Group.

About 100 students at five high schools this year were certified in skills required for construction jobs, but Shelby County Schools hopes to dramatically increase that number through the new program, said Tanika Lester, the district’s manager of college and career technical education programs. About 2,400 students earned certifications across more than a dozen other career fields this year – more than double the district’s goal, Lester said.

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Texas bill would create public database of wage thieves (TX)

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Written by Ryan Johnston
MAY 3, 2019 | STATESCOOP

Under a new bill making its way through the Texas legislature, the state would create a publicly searchable database of companies and employers that commit wage theft – a serious problem in a state that only sees 50 percent of offenders pay back stolen wages.

The bill, introduced last November by Democratic state Rep. Mary Gonzalez, would require the state’s workforce commission to maintain the database of offenders. Wage theft can take different forms, such as employers skimping on overtime for hourly workers or paying below minimum wage, which has been $7.25 per hour in Texas since 2009.

The database that would be created under Gonzalez’s bill would publish the names of each manager, owner and business that purposely withheld wages from employees and never paid them back. Though the bill doesn’t punish offenders monetarily, it would give workers, activists and politicians the ability to identify consistent violators. Right now, that information is only available through a public records request, something potential employees are unlikely to make of their future employer, particularly if they’re undocumented.

But the bill would give offending employers time to pay owed wages before they are added to the database. Companies that are ordered by the state’s labor commission to pay back wages have 30 days to do so; if they don’t comply, the state has 180 days to notify them they’re going to be added to the database, during which they can dispute the offense. Once an employer is added to the database, though, the identifying information would be searchable for three years or until they’re convicted of having committed wage theft.

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WI DWD Holds Worker Misclassification Roundtable (WI)

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05/14/19
WorkersCompensation.com

Waukesha, WI – The Department of Workforce Development (DWD), in collaboration with State Council of Carpenters and Painting and Allied Trades, held a Worker Misclassification Roundtable in Waukesha yesterday to gather information and input on the issue of Worker Misclassification in Wisconsin. The roundtable was hosted by Building Services Incorporated.

“Under Governor Evers, the rights of workers are first and foremost, and by ensuring that employees are properly classified, we are providing workers with the confidence that in the event of a separation or workplace issue, they will have proper supports in place,” DWD Secretary Caleb Frostman said. “The input of our employer partners and other stakeholders on this issue is absolutely vital as we move forward with implementing Governor Evers’ Joint Taskforce to combat Worker Misclassification and Payroll fraud.”

Last year alone, UI Division auditors conducted 2,459 audits, identifying 8,677 misclassified workers and recouping more than $1.5 million in Unemployment Insurance (UI) taxes, interest and penalties due to their efforts. The issue isn’t isolated to the UI program alone. Misclassified workers are often times denied access to worker’s compensation and various labor and civil rights protections. Employers who misclassify workers obtain a competitive advantage over their peers. Without action on this important issue, Wisconsin stands to lose tax revenue, employers who play by the rules lose work, and workers suffer.

Under Wisconsin law, workers are presumed to be employees and subject to tax unless determined by law to be independent contractors. An employer found to be utilizing misclassified workers may be liable for additional tax, interest and penalties. Employers engaged in the construction trades may also be subject to a stop work order. In addition, employers engaged in the painting or drywall finishing of buildings or other structures who willfully provide false information to DWD for the purpose of misclassifying or attempting to misclassify a worker as an independent contractor can be fined $25,000 for each violation.

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CHERYL MARIE STANTON BECOMES NEW ADMINISTRATOR OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR’S WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION

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Agency: Office of the Secretary, Wage and Hour Division
Date: April 29, 2019
Release Number: 19-0750-NAT

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced Cheryl Marie Stanton was sworn-in as the Administrator of the Department’s Wage and Hour Division.

“I welcome and congratulate Cheryl Stanton as she officially assumes the position of Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. “Cheryl brings with her a distinguished career including prior public service as Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.”

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) … administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

Stanton was nominated by President Trump on September 2, 2017, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 10, 2019.

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Parr: Prevailing wage bill will stop money from leaving New York (NY)

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By Ron Parr
April 15, 2019

New York faces a statewide problem related to public works. Despite what some may say, if this issue is left unresolved it could have disastrous implications for business, hurting both contractors and workers in New York State.

The lack of a clear definition of public works has created a loophole that can be exploited by bad actors to take millions in public subsidies, turn around and hire out of state contractors and pay workers poverty-level wages. The consequences for New York are vast. Tax dollars meant to invest in local companies and spur economic development are funneling into the back pockets of unscrupulous developers and millions in foregone tax revenue continues to accrue.

Legislation in both houses of the state Legislature in Albany would provide the statewide solution New York needs – from Western New York to New York City, from the North Country to Long Island.

Opponents claim public works legislation would increase the cost of construction and impede economic growth, but when you look at the numbers, this is far off the mark. Far from slowing economic growth, public works legislation would significantly boost the economy both upstate and down, first and foremost: through tax revenue.

Mandating wage standards and taxpayer benefits on projects that received public funding would produce an additional $3.5-6.9 million annual sales tax revenue. At present, local contractors lose out in the bidding process to out-of-state contractors that pay poverty-level wages to gain a competitive advantage. Leveling the playing field so that in-state contractors can compete would ensure these tax dollars stay in New York.

Additionally, the payment of prevailing wages often encourages a more skilled, localized workforce. Skilled workers minimize costs by increasing efficiency and decreasing the amount of time needed to complete a project. A clear definition of public works has the potential to actually reduce overall project costs.

Furthermore, public works legislation would strengthen industries outside of construction including insurance, financial services, health care and the restaurant industry, the combination of which would add billions in revenue and produce thousands of jobs.

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Prevailing-wage bill would uplift construction workers of color (NY)

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April 30, 2019 12:00 AM
Barrie Smith

All construction workers in New York-union or nonunion, male or female, black or white-deserve the right to a fair wage for their hard work.

That’s why all New York construction workers critically need prevailing wage legislation. A loophole in the current definition of public works allows bad-actor contractors to receive millions in taxpayer subsidies for projects while paying workers poverty-level wages.

Despite the universal applicability of this legislation to construction workers, a misinformed narrative that prevailing-wage legislation would negatively impact people of color by favoring union labor somehow persists-often perpetuated by white, nonunion workers. This argument shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how to best serve the interest of people of color, a complete lack of knowledge regarding the increasingly positive role of the building trades in the effort for civil rights in New York, and, frankly, a rudimentary understanding of the bill itself.

Lack of diversity in the building trades is a thing of the past. The social justice community accepts this as fact. The truth is that today, people of color benefit from greater opportunity for higher wages and benefits, a lower racial wage gap and less wage discrimination than in nonunion construction.

The numbers clearly back this up. A 2017 report by the Economic Policy Institute, Diversity in the New York City Union and Nonunion Construction Sectors, showed that more than half of unionized construction workers are people of color. Black workers in particular have a 5% higher share of employment than in the nonunion sector.

And not only are there more jobs for people of color in unions, but the jobs are better. Black workers earn 36.1% more per hour than those in the nonunion sector. Hispanic workers earn $8 more per hour.

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ATTORNEY GENERAL’S LEGISLATION STRENGTHENING WAGE THEFT LAWS AND INCREASING PENALTIES PASSES LEGISLATURE WITH BIPARTISAN SUPPORT (WA)

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By Washington State Office of the Attorney General
Apr 19th, 2019

OLYMPIA – The Legislature passed Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s agency request legislation strengthening Washington’s wage theft laws in the prevailing wage arena. Prevailing wage is most common in government contracts. Prevailing wage laws prevent a “race to the bottom” as contractors seek to lower worker pay in order to underbid each other.

The bill, SB 5035, increases the maximum penalty for prevailing wage violations from one thousand dollars or 20 percent of the violation, whichever is greater, to five thousand dollars or 50 percent of the violation, whichever is greater. These penalties have not increased since 1985.

Ferguson’s legislation also closes a major loophole in Washington’s prevailing wage laws that allows repeat and willful violators to avoid a penalty or sanction if they respond to a wage complaint by returning the stolen pay to the worker before the state can take additional legal action. This loophole derives from the state’s limited authority to file enforcement actions when there are “unpaid wages” – a term that was undefined before now.

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“This bill ensures that employers who cheat their workers out of hard-earned pay will face consequences, the same as you or I would face if we stole something,” said Ferguson. “Allowing the state to pursue penalties against employers that intentionally rip off their workers protects hardworking Washingtonians and their families.”

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The Washington Building Trades, Faith Action Network and Working Washington also supported SB 5035.

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