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

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

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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Amendment to New Jersey’s Prevailing Wage Act Significantly Expands the Authority of the Commissioner (NJ)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

July 31, 2019
CSG Labor & Employment Alert

Effective July 9, 2019, employers who fail to pay prevailing wages to employees working on projects in New Jersey subject to the Prevailing Wage Act (“Act”) may be subject to the issuance of stop-work orders by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development (“Commissioner”).

The recent amendment to the Act grants the Commissioner significantly greater authority to issue stop-work orders, providing that:

  • The Commissioner can immediately issue a stop-work order to an employer regardless of whether the matter was referred to the Attorney General, if an initial determination was made that the employer has violated the Act by paying employees less than the prevailing wage.
  • A general contractor has the right to immediately terminate a subcontractor who has been issued a stop-work order.
  • A stop-work order remains in effect until the Commissioner issues an order stating otherwise.
  • The Commissioner may require an employer to file periodic reports with the Department of Labor and Workforce Department (“DOL”) for up to two years as a condition for release from a stop-work order.
  • An employer that conducts business in violation of a stop-work order will be subject to penalties for up to $5,000 for each day that it conducts business in violation of the stop-work order.
  • Upon receiving a complaint or as part of a routine investigation of potential violations of any wage and hour law, the Worker’s Compensation law, or the Unemployment Compensation law, the Commissioner or his/her agent can enter a place of employment during business hours to, among other things, examine payroll and other records and interview employees.
  • The Commissioner is empowered to subpoena witnesses, books, and records, and employers can be fined no less than $1,000 for each day the employer fails to comply with the subpoena.
  • The Commissioner can issue a stop-work order if it is determined that an employer has violated any wage and hour law, the Worker’s Compensation law, or the Unemployment Compensation law.
  • An employer which has been issued a stop-work order has the right to appeal the decision within 72 hours.
  • Instead of issuing a stop-work order, after determining that an employer is in violation of the Act, the Commissioner may transfer the case to the Division of Workers’ Compensation for investigation.

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California Labor Commissioner Citation of General Contractor for Subcontractor’s Wage Theft Affirmed

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

SOURCE California Department of Industrial Relations, California Labor Commissioner’s Office
Jun 29, 2017, 17:32 ET

LOS ANGELES, June 29, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — California Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su issued citations of $249,879 against Irvine-based general contractor Deacon Corporation, along with its subcontractor, Lafayette-based Champion Constructions, Inc.

This is the first time that the Labor Commissioner has held a general contractor responsible for wage theft by its subcontractor by issuing citations under AB 1897 (section 2810.3 of the Labor Code), signed by Governor Brown in 2014, which took effect on January 1, 2015.

Champion, a drywall and framing contractor hired by Deacon for the Cambria Hotel construction project in El Segundo, shorted 47 workers. The Champion employees worked an average of 10 hours a day, five days a week and were unpaid for four weeks.

“This case addresses the pervasive problem of wage theft in subcontracted industries,” said Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su. “Businesses at the top of the contracting chain that profit from workplace violations can no longer escape legal liability by hiding behind their subcontractors, even if they did not control the work performed or know about the violations.”

The wage theft came to light after several of Champion’s workers walked off the job on June 16, 2016, and filed wage claims at the Labor Commissioner’s Office in Long Beach for nonpayment of wages.

The Labor Commissioner’s investigation revealed that Champion paid the workers from an account with insufficient funds and then skipped several pay periods for the majority of the workers. Investigators also learned that Champion failed to pay overtime wages to many of the workers, who worked up to 2 hours overtime a day.

The Labor Commissioner’s Office last August issued citations against both Deacon and Champion totaling $279,151 in unpaid overtime and minimum wages, waiting time penalties, rest period premiums and civil penalties for work performed from May 8, 2016 to June 16, 2016. A demand letter was also issued in August for $50,466 to request payment of the contract wages, which is the difference between minimum wage and the wages promised to the workers when contracted for the job.

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