‘Stop Work Order’ Signs Posted On Controversial Building Trades High School Construction Site

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By MARK J. BONAMO AND TOM WIEDMANN
Published – September 8, 2022

NEWARK, NJ — State Department of Labor and Workforce Development officials have posted “Stop-Work Order” signs on the construction site of the new Newark High School of Architecture & Interior Design.

Work at the site appeared to come to a halt Thursday, except for some cleanup work activity. DOL officials said that stop-work orders were issued to the general contractor and subcontractor performing work at 155 Jefferson St., and to the developer of the property, slated to be the site of the district’s Newark High School of Architecture & Design.

Investigators from the DOL’s Division of Wage and Hour and Contract Compliance delivered the stop-work notices to a New York-based general contractor Townhouse Builders Inc., subcontractor Dimension Contractors LLC of Newark, and developer Summit Assets.

In addition, officials said the stop-work orders were issued for workers on-site not being paid the state prevailing wage rate, neither the developer – which had workers at the site – nor the subcontractor is registered to perform public work in New Jersey. Summit Assets was also cited for misclassifying workers as independent contractors. Townhouse Builders was cited for employing non-registered contractors on a prevailing wage job site.

“Our strongest enforcement tool is to stop work immediately on a public construction site when workplace violations are egregious and readily apparent,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “Performing public work is a privilege, not a right, and we will not tolerate abuses to workers or the law.” …

TAPinto Newark first reported that Laborers Eastern Region Organizing Fund, or LEROF—the organizing arm of Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA)—filed a complaint with the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development regarding the project, alleging laborers are not being paid prevailing wages as required by law and were working in unsafe conditions.

LEROF Director David Johnson commended the DOL’s decision to issue the stop-work orders.

“We were appalled by what happened [at the site],” Johnson told TAPinto Newark. “We are a union, and we are about educating non-union laborers about their rights. We’re very pleased that after these workers were brought before the Department of Labor to give testimony. It seemed like today, the DOL believed what the workers said, and they acted today.”

(Read More)

dispatcher-12

SWACCA President to Testify Before House Committee on Misclassification in the Construction Industry

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Business Wire
September 25, 2019 11:22 AM

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, Sept. 26, at 10:15 a.m. EDT, Matt Townsend, the President of the Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance (SWACCA) and Chief Executive Officer of OCP Contractors, Inc., located in Holland, Ohio, is scheduled to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Labor Workforce Protections Subcommittee at a hearing titled Misclassification of Employees: Examining the Costs to Workers, Businesses, and the Economy

In his testimony, Townsend will outline how the misclassification of employees impacts the construction industry, particularly the competitive disadvantage it creates for law-abiding employers.

“SWACCA appreciates the opportunity to highlight for Members of Congress the pervasiveness of employee misclassification in the construction industry,” said Townsend. “Law-abiding employers like the ones SWACCA represents do not wish to be complicit in misclassification in order to compete. I look forward to sharing with Congress exactly how these misclassification schemes tilt the playing field against law-abiding employers in the construction industry while also harming workers and taxpayers.”

SWACCA has established itself as a leader in the fight against misclassification in the construction industry. Last Congress, SWACCA strongly opposed passage of legislation that would have eliminated barriers to misclassifying workers as independent contractors. A letter submitted on behalf of SWACCA opposing passage of the bill was cited in a House Committee report and on the floor of the House of Representatives during debate. SWACCA also fought to ensure that an IRS rulemaking initiated by the passage of the 2017 tax reform legislation did not create a financial incentive for workers to accept being misclassified in exchange for a favorable “pass-through” tax deduction.

The Misclassification of Employees: Examining the Costs to Workers, Businesses, and the Economy hearing will take place in the House Education and Labor Workforce Protections Subcommittee on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 10:15 a.m. EDT in the Rayburn House Office Building Room 2175. A livestream will be available here.

The Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance (SWACCA) is a national organization of signatory wall and ceiling contractors committed to working in partnership with its workforce to provide the highest-quality, most efficient construction services possible to its customers. SWACCA prides itself on representing companies that fully embrace their commitment to their customers and their employees.

(Read More)