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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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Viking Village pool workers to get back pay

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By Fatima Hussein | July 25, 2016

More than 20 pipefitters and bricklayers constructing the Viking Village Shared Facility Pool in Sharonville will recover a total of $147,000 in back wages and benefits following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Federal investigators found Kitchener, Ontario-based Gall Construction of America LTD, operating as Acapulco Pools, underpaid 21 workers up to $17 per hour in salary and benefits.

The company violated provisions of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, which cover areas of prevailing wage laws and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, which govern wage rates for projects receiving federal funds, the labor department said.

In a news release, the department said it determined the company had classified the bricklayers and other workers as general laborers and failed to pay them prevailing wages, fringe benefits and overtime at the rate due for their job titles.

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US LABOR DEPARTMENT RECOVERS $147K IN BACK WAGES FOR 21 OHIO TRADE WORKERS EMPLOYED UNDER FEDERAL CONTRACT

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

WHD News Release: 07/11/2016

Release Number: 16-1439-CHI

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Pipefitters and bricklayers constructing the Viking Village Shared Facility Pool in Sharonville under a federal contract will recover a total of $147,000 in back wages and benefits following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Federal investigators found Gall Construction of America LTD underpaid the workers up to $17 per hour in salary and benefits, and violated provisions of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, which govern wage rates for projects receiving federal funds. The company operates as Acapulco Pools.

The division determined the company classified 21 bricklayers and pipefitters as general labors and failed to pay prevailing wages, fringe benefits and overtime at the rate due for their job titles. Gall also failed to keep accurate time and payroll records for employees. To resolve these violations the company agreed to pay the workers the monies owed in back wages and benefits.

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US LABOR DEPARTMENT RECOVERS $431K FOR WORKERS ON MANHATTAN’S FEDERALLY FUNDED PECK SLIP PROJECT

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Litigation alleged prevailing wage, overtime violations

WHD News Release: 07/14/2016

Release Number: 16-1203-NEW

NEW YORK – Thirty-one workers employed on the federally funded cobblestone reconstruction project on Manhattan’s Peck Slip will receive $431,715 in back wages and interest following an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the workers did not receive the proper prevailing wages and fringe benefits required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act.

Sam Schwartz Engineering, a first-tier subcontractor under prime contractor MFM Contracting Corp. employed the workers. Investigators found that the employees who worked as flaggers on the project were incorrectly classified. The division alleged that – between August 2011 and January 2014 – they were paid $15 to $25 per hour instead of the prevailing wage rate of $44.49 per hour. The investigation also found workers did not receive all the overtime they were due under CWHSSA when they worked more than 40 hours in a week, did not receive holiday pay and that they were not paid on a weekly basis, as required.

The department’s Office of the Solicitor filed an administrative proceeding in 2015 against MFM Contracting and Sam Schwartz Engineering. The case is now being resolved with a consent findings and order approved by the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges. Under the order, workers from the Peck Slip project will receive $431,715 in unpaid wages.

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Wiljo Interiors Inc. in Tulsa pays more than $200K in unpaid wages and benefits to 178 misclassified construction workers

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

US Department of Labor investigation finds contractor responsible as a joint employer of its subcontractor’s workers

 

WHD News Brief: [12/15/2015]
Release Number: 15-2312-DAL

 

Employer: Wiljo Interiors Inc.

Site: Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Oklahoma.

Investigation Findings: A recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Wiljo Interiors Inc. violated overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act; and did not pay the proper prevailing wage rates or fringe benefits required under the Davis Bacon Act.

Wiljo Interiors was sub-contracted by prime contractor, Cherokee CRC LLC, to work on a $2.9 million federally-funded construction project at the Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Oklahoma. Wiljo Interiors then brought in an additional sub-contractor, Strong Rock Drywall LLC, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, misclassified its owner and workers as independent contractors, yet dictated what they would pay them. Strong Rock also failed to pay its employees as required by law, but their work was directed and controlled by Wiljo. Therefore, the division found there was a joint employment relationship between the two employers, holding both employers responsible, both individually and jointly, for compliance with the FLSA. The FLSA states joint employment exists where workers have an employment relationship with one employer, and the economic realities show that they are economically dependent on – and thus simultaneously employed by – another entity involved in the work.

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