Parents Sue Over Construction Worker Death at Metro School

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Stephen Elliott

June 3, 2024

The case partially inspired the proposed contract compliance board aimed at workplace safety, wage theft allegations

The parents of a 20-year-old Guatemalan laborer who died last year after falling from the roof at South Nashville’s Glencliff High School are suing Metro, the school system, an insurance company and two contractors, alleging negligence, wrongful death and discrimination.

The parents of Denis Geovani Ba Ché, who live in rural Guatemala, filed the lawsuit Friday afternoon in Davidson County Circuit Court, represented by Stranch, Jennings & Garvey attorney Kerry Dietz. She also represented the family of 16-year-old Gustavo Ramirez, who died in 2020 while working on a hotel project near Nissan Stadium.

“I’ve really seen how easy it is for workers — especially minority workers, especially immigrant workers — how easy it is for them to slip through the cracks,” Dietz told the Banner. “There are very few, if any, mechanisms in place to catch safety violations on projects like this.”

In addition to the Metro government and Metro Nashville Public Schools, the complaint names primary contractor Eskola, subcontractor Jr. Roofing & Construction and Builders Mutual Insurance Company as defendants. The complaint allows other plaintiffs to join the case, alleging that the young worker was not adequately trained or supervised. Additionally, the complaint links the worker’s Latino heritage to the majority Latino population at Glencliff.

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Federal Court Orders 4 Arizona Contractors to Pay Over $3.2m in Owed Wages, Damages to 890 Workers after Department of Labor Investigations

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Agency: Wage and Hour Division
Date: April 22, 2024
Release Number: 24-608-NAT

Employers also liable for $95K in penalties for overtime, minimum wage violations

PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that efforts to protect residential construction workers from unlawful pay practices have recovered a total of $3.2 million in wages and damages from four Arizona contractors for 890 workers.

After a series of investigations, the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that 4-E Painting LLC and Liberty Constructors LLC in Mesa and BCK Coatings Inc. and Geronimo Wall Systems LLC in Tempe willfully and recklessly shortchanged the affected workers and violated the overtime and minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The division’s investigations found:

  • 4-E Painting LLC did not pay overtime wages when the employer paid employees piece-rate wages for painting work or a combination of hourly wages and piece-rate wages. The division determined 4-E Painting owed $432,633 in overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 158 workers. The department also assessed $24,732 in penalties.
  • Liberty Constructors LLC denied employees required overtime pay and tried to conceal its violations by falsely showing a higher hourly rate or fewer hours worked on payroll records. The division found the contractor owes $401,049 in unpaid wages and $401,049 in liquidated damages to 100 employees. The department also assessed $17,900 in civil penalties.
  • Geronimo Wall Systems LLC denied overtime pay to 195 employees for hours over 40 in a workweek. The lath, stucco, siding and stone contractor misclassified many of the employees as independent contractors. The division determined the employer owes $443,115 in overtime wages and $443,115 in damages to 195 employees, and the department assessed $22,770 in civil money penalties.
  • BCK Coatings Inc. failed to pay required overtime wages for hours over 40 in a workweek. The apartment remodeling contractor misclassified employees as independent contractors, made improper deductions of up to $20 per week from employees’ pay, required workers to cash their paychecks at a check-cashing business that charged a fee and failed to pay one employee for eight weeks of work. The investigation found BCK owes $360,000 in unpaid minimum and overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 437 employees. The department also assessed $30,000 in penalties for the employer’s willful violations.

“Our investigators have found that schemes to pay straight-time for all hours worked and avoid paying required overtime rates at time and one-half are pervasive among employers in Arizona’s construction industry,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Murray in Phoenix. “These unlawful practices create the false impression that piece-rate workers’ wages comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act when, in fact, these employees are being stripped of their earned wages. The Wage and Hour Division is committed to holding employers accountable and ensuring that they do not obtain an unfair competitive advantage by denying workers their full wages.”

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Study Shows that Project Labor Agreements Promote Bid Competition, Control Costs, and Expand Pathways to Skilled Construction Careers

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

ILEPI – May 7, 2024

Analysis of Port of Seattle Projects Offers Key Insights Into Potential Impact of New Federal Contracting Rules

La Grange, IL: A first-of-its-kind analysis of construction projects from the Port of Seattle between 2016 and 2023—including airports and seaports—shows that project labor agreements (PLAs) promote competition amongst contractors, control construction costs, and deliver superior workforce development outcomes over projects completed without PLAs. The report was conducted by researchers at the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and the Project for Middle Class Renewal (PMCR) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Read the Report, The Impact of Project Labor Agreements on Competition, Costs, Apprenticeships, and Diversity:  Evidence from Port of Seattle Projects here.

Project labor agreements are pre-hire agreements between construction project owners and labor organizations that establish the terms and conditions of employment for skilled craft workers on large infrastructure projects. They have a long history as a de-risking mechanism and construction management tool for both the public and private sectors, ranging from the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1930s to the construction of most modern NFL stadiums today. In 2022, President Biden signed an Executive Order to require PLAs on federal projects valued at more than $35 million. Most PLAs include provisions for preventing strikes and lockouts, creating uniform work rules and safety standards, harmonizing schedules between different types of crafts, and addressing skilled labor supply needs.

“As is the case with many policies involving labor standards, there is a great deal of mythology around PLAs and their impact on businesses seeking to compete for bids, on costs borne by project owners and taxpayers, and on the broader workforce supply needs of the construction industry,” said study coauthor and ILEPI Economist Frank Manzo. “With trillions in new infrastructure funding and an Executive Order from President Biden expanding the utilization of PLAs, data from Port of Seattle projects offers a useful comparative analysis that will help communities and policymakers separate myth from fact and maximize the impact of these investments.”

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Tennessee workers at VW plant vote to unionize with UAW

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Todd A. Price
Gary Estwick

April 19, 2024

Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga overwhelmingly voted to join the United Auto Workers late Friday, giving the union a decisive foothold in the historically anti-union South.

Nearly three quarters of the workers voted to support the UAW, according to the final results from the National Labor Relations Board. Of the 4,326 workers eligible to vote, more than 3,600 casts ballots over the three-day election.

As the votes were counted Friday night, first a trickle — and later, a wave — of bold, red T-shirts with white lettering peppered the union hall Friday evening at I.B.E.W. Local 175.

Joseph McMullen walked into the hall around 9 p.m. expecting many of his Volkswagen colleagues to have voted to establish a union. But he was not prepared for the overwhelming pro-union support displayed on a projection screen.

“I think that matters,” said McMullen, an Alabama native who works in the quality department. “It sends a message.”

When the news of the final victory was announced, members of the crowd jumped, cheered and hugged. Minutes later, UAW president Shawn Fain arrived to congratulate VW workers.

“Many of the talking heads and the pundits have said to me repeatedly, before we announced, that you can’t win in the South,” Fain told the cheering crowd. “But you all said, ‘Watch this.’ You all moved the mountain.”

The victory came despite strong opposition from a coalition of six Southern governors, including Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. On Tuesday, Lee penned a letter which urged workers to reject unions.

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US Department of Labor Recovers $1.5m for Laborers, Mechanics Working On Multi-Billion-Dollar Federal Program at California Navy Base

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Agency: Wage and Hour Division
Date: March 20, 2024
Release Number: 24-468-SAN

35 contractors violated federal labor laws, shortchanging 413 workers

SACRAMENTO – Widespread violations of federal labor and contracting regulations by nearly three dozen employers with federally funded contracts at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake resulted in the U.S. Department of Labor recovering more than $1.5 million in back wages and damages for more than 400 workers at the Ridgecrest facility.

Part of an initiative by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, the investigations sought to ensure contractors working on the $3.9 billion earthquake recovery program at NAWS China Lake met federal regulations for the employment of workers on projects supported with federal funds. The initiative seeks to bring construction employers into compliance and hold them responsible for paying workers prevailing wages and health and welfare benefits as required.

In investigations of 35 contractors spanning a two-year period, division investigators recovered more than $1.5 million in back wages and $32,291 in liquidated damages for a total of 413 workers for violations of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, the Service Contract Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The division also assessed employers with $14,020 in civil money penalties as a result.

“Federal projects like these often strengthen the region’s economy, but when employers fail to pay workers all the required wages and fringe benefits they’ve earned, the full benefits are not felt,” explained Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Ruben Rosalez in San Francisco. “Employers unclear of their legal obligations and workers unsure of their rights can contact us to learn what it takes to comply with federal laws.”

Among the largest violators were subcontractors working on projects awarded to Environmental Chemical Corp., a Burlingame design and construction company doing business as ECC. The company was awarded two contracts as part of the Earthquake Recovery Program, including the largest construction project, the South Airfield Complex at NAWS China Lake. The subcontractors found in violation include:

  • Adecco USA Inc., a Jacksonville, Florida, recruitment and staffing service, failed to pay required prevailing wage rates, health and welfare benefits, and overtime while providing temporary staffing for food service, clerical, maintenance and housekeeping work. The division recovered $626,341 in back wages for 115 workers – some of whom were owed nearly $40,000 – for the violations.
  • Blue Knight Security & Patrol Inc., a Rancho Cordova security guard and patrol service providing security at a temporary housing site for construction workers, failed to pay overtime wages, prevailing wage rates and health and welfare benefits as required by law. The division recovered $313,045 in back wages for 54 workers.
  • Hensel Phelps, a Greeley, Colorado, commercial and institutional building contractor providing construction services, failed to pay prevailing wage rates, health and welfare benefits, and overtime compensation. The division recovered $184,172 in back wages for 37 workers.
  • ATCO Structures and Logistics, a Spring, Texas, prefabricated wood building manufacturer building living units for construction employees, failed to pay prevailing wage rates and overtime wages. The division determined ATCO owed $104,935 in back wages to seven workers.

In addition to these contractors, 31 additional contractors violated federal labor laws. View a list of all employers cited in these investigations.

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Executive Order on Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships in Industries and the Federal Government and Promoting Labor-Management Forums

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White House
March 6, 2024

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.  Policy.  My Administration’s Investing in America agenda includes a once-in-a-generation investment in our Nation’s infrastructure.  This agenda is also driving the creation of well-paying jobs and growing the economy sustainably and equitably, and it will continue to do so for decades to come.  To fully realize the benefits of these investments, students and workers at all stages of life need equitable access to education and training for the good jobs in their communities.

Critical to achieving these goals is promoting Registered Apprenticeships, as described in title 29, parts 29 and 30, of the Code of Federal Regulations, which provide substantial benefits to both workers and employers.  As the Nation’s largest employer and procurer of goods and services, the Federal Government can be a model for the use and promotion of skills-based hiring, such as the use of Registered Apprenticeships, which reduces barriers to employment and attracts a diverse workforce to meet our Nation’s critical needs.  My Administration has made strengthening and empowering the Federal workforce a management priority.  As a part of its overall strategy to hire, retain, and develop the people needed to accomplish executive department and agency (agency) missions and to create equitable, transparent, and transferable career-development pathways, the Federal Government can scale and expand Registered Apprenticeship programs to modernize and broaden avenues to Federal jobs, thereby improving access to opportunities for underserved workers.

Additionally, Labor-Management Forums provide an opportunity for managers, employees, and employees’ union representatives to discuss how Federal Government operations can promote satisfactory labor relations and improve the productivity and effectiveness of the Federal Government.  Labor-Management Forums, as complements to the existing collective bargaining process, allow managers and employees to collaborate in order to continue to deliver the highest quality goods and services to the American people.

It is the policy of my Administration to promote Registered Apprenticeships to meet employer needs while investing in workers’ skills; reducing employment barriers; and promoting job quality, equity, inclusion, and accessibility for the benefit of the Federal Government and the Nation.  Further, it is the policy of my Administration to establish cooperative and productive labor-management relations throughout the executive branch.

(See Full Executive Order)

NAFC’s Board of Directors’ Elects New NAFC President and Chairman

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NAFC is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has elected Board
Member Ernesto (“Ernie”) J. Ordonez as its new Chairman and President. Ernie
succeeds Rocco Davis, retired Vice President of LIUNA. Ernie is a LIUNA Vice
President and Regional Manager of its Pacific Southwest Region covering the
states of California, Hawaii, Arizona. Ernie is a 2006 graduate of the Harvard Trade
Union Program. He is a second generation Laborer, becoming a member of
LIUNA Local 89 in San Diego, CA upon his graduation from high school .
During his career, Ernie has worked as a Laborer, Laborer Foreman, Recording
Secretary and Field Representative for Local 89, International Representative and
Assistant Regional Manager for the LIUNA Pacific Southwest Region before
assuming his position as Regional Manager.

NAFC welcomes Ernie to his new position and extends heartfelt thanks to retiring
Chairman and President Rocco Davis for his years of dedication and service to
NAFC, its members and to the entire labor movement.

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How solar contractors can meet IRA apprenticeship requirements

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Kelsey Misbrener
October 30, 2023

The solar workforce is changing because of IRA apprenticeship and prevailing wage requirements that went into effect in January. Contractors that haven’t yet made a long-term recruitment plan have a few options available to help them do so.

To collect the full 30% ITC for projects 1 MWAC and larger, contractors with four or more workers on a jobsite must employ apprentices for a certain percentage of labor-hours and pay prevailing wages to all workers. For projects starting in 2023, registered apprentices must make up 12.5% of the on-site labor during the construction phase. That number increases to 15% for projects that start construction in 2024 and after.

Since this is a new initiative for the clean energy industry, the Dept. of Labor (DOL) is working with a few partners to coach and acclimate contractors to the country’s well-established apprenticeship system.

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) was contracted by the DOL to lead the Apprenticeships in Clean Energy (ACE) Network, a national coalition of industry, education and workforce development leaders working to create, expand and diversify Registered Apprenticeship opportunities in the clean energy industry.

“The intermediaries can help understand what that process of registering a program is, what the requirements are, navigate that process, and also navigate where additional funding may be available to support programs,” said Richard Lawrence, program director at IREC.

IREC is specifically tasked with recruiting more veterans into the clean energy industry. Veterans in Registered Apprenticeship programs can access a monthly housing allowance benefit through the GI Bill, making apprenticeships appealing for this population. IREC is also working to bring other diverse workers into the industry who may not have access to green employment without an apprenticeship program.

“Being an ‘earn-while-you-learn’ model, as they say, is a great way to attract diverse candidates. You remove a lot of the barriers that are associated with similar pathways, like getting a college degree, where you’re having to often pay for those courses up-front,” Lawrence said.

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Nearly $16M in wages, benefits recovered for more than 2,800 workers denied full pay by 62 subcontractors on federal project at New Jersey military base

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Agency: Wage and Hour Division
Date: January 29, 2024
Release Number: 23-2598-NAT

A widespread investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered nearly $16 million in back wages and restored over 24,700 paid sick leave hours to leave banks for more than 2,800 workers denied their full wages and benefits by 62 subcontractors hired to construct temporary housing and provide services to Afghan refugees at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.

After 75 investigations that included Jupiter, Florida-based Disaster Management Group LLC, one of the project’s general contractors, and 61 subcontractors, the department’s Wage and Hour Division found DMG and its subcontractors violated federal law, including the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act, the Davis-Bacon Act, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and Executive Order 13706, by failing to:

Pay minimum prevailing wage rates to workers.
Pay fringe benefits.
Pay proper overtime.
Offer required paid sick leave under Executive Order 13706.
Properly classify workers as employees in their appropriate trades according to the work they performed.
Maintain required records, including segregating any benefits that may have been paid from wages.
Provide required notices to workers informing them of their rights under federal law.

The division found DMG liable for its own violations of federal law as well as for violations committed by its subcontractors for work performed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Managed by the Department of Defense, the project involved contractors from 17 states and Puerto Rico tasked with building temporary housing and coordinating delivery of medical, food and translation services as part of Operation Allies Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome to resettle Afghan refugees. The project began in July 2021 and was completed in February 2022.

In addition to paying the back wages and fringe benefits, DMG signed an enhanced compliance agreement with the department that requires it to develop and follow strategies to prevent, detect and resolve potential non-compliance by, among other things:

Creating a written prevailing wage compliance manual to include employees’ federal protections.
Vetting potential subcontractors’ ability to perform work in compliance with prevailing wage laws.
Monitoring itself and its subcontractors proactively by periodically conducting confidential employee interviews, reviewing basic and certified records, analyzing the use of classifications related to the work performed, verifying fringe benefit payments and maintaining a list of all employees of all subcontractors on any covered contracts.
Requiring subcontractors to certify compliance on all prevailing wage projects.
Verifying that the agency has incorporated the correct labor clauses and wage determinations.

“Every worker deserves to be paid the full wages to which they are entitled, and this compliance agreement, which recovers millions in wages for hundreds of workers, should serve as notice to other government contractors that the department will utilize its full power to enforce vigorously federal wage laws,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda.

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US Department of Labor, Nevada office of the Labor Commissioner Partner to protect and promote workers’ rights, educate employers 

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Agency Wage and Hour Division
Date February 6, 2024
Release Number 24-185-SAN

The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division district office in Las Vegas and the Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner signed a collaborative partnership to enhance and promote joint outreach, investigations and information sharing.

Through the partnership, the division’s Las Vegas district office will cooperate with the Office of the Labor Commissioner on cases with jurisdictional overlap, specifically those involving wage theft. A Memorandum of Understanding will help both agencies effectively continue to work together on areas of mutual interest, including educating employees and employers about their rights and responsibilities under the law.

“Our partnership with the Office of the Labor Commissioner will help promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of workers in Nevada,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Gene Ramos in Las Vegas. “This agreement will also encourage enhanced law enforcement and greater coordination between agencies.”

The five-year agreement will also facilitate joint outreach presentations, cross-training for investigators and staff, and the referral of potential violations of each entity’s statutes.

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