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Ariz. Contractor Faces Big Fines Over Alleged Worker Pay Infractions

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

June 7, 2022 – Jim Parsons
ENR Southwest

A federal judge has ordered a Tempe, Ariz., plastering and stucco contractor to rectify longstanding worker recordkeeping violations or face weekly coercive fines of up to $10,000.

The May 27 order, issued by US District Court Chief Judge G. Murray Snow against Valley Wide Plastering Inc., its owners and vice president, marks the latest chapter in a long-running effort by the U.S. Dept. of Labor to force firm compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

According to court documents, separate department investigations, conducted in 2012 and 2017 into allegations of payroll discrepancies at Valley Wide, found that owners Jesse Guerrero and Rose Guerrero, and vice president J.R. Guerrero, intentionally allowed inaccuracies in the recording of employees work hours.

Examples included filling in false hours or manually altering the number of hours employees recorded without adequate justification. Evidence also suggested that Valley Wide failed to maintain daily time and payment records, including paying wages from non-payroll accounts, and intentionally reduced regular employee rates to give the false appearance of overtime pay.

A February 25, 2021, preliminary injunction, also issued by Judge Snow, ordered Valley Wide to implement a reliable timekeeping system and maintain accurate and complete records of each employee’s gross wages, deductions and net pay. The company subsequently converted from a piece-rate to an hourly wage system, with employees documenting time using a paper-and-pencil system.

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UPDATE: OSHA delays electronic recordkeeping rule deadline

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on
Author Emily Peiffer, Hallie Busta
UPDATE: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday that it will suspend the electronic recordkeeping rule’s filing deadline in order to give employers more time to comply, according to The Washington Post. Although the filing date was originally scheduled for July 1, the agency has not yet opened the online portal for companies to submit their injury and illness logs. OSHA has not announced how long the extension will last.
Dive Brief:
  • The National Association of Home Builders – along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma State Homebuilders Association, the State Chamber of Oklahoma and three poultry associations – filed a lawsuit in January against the U.S. Department of Labor and OSHA in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma relating to OSHA’s final recordkeeping rule.
  • The lawsuit claims that the rule, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” overreaches and violates businesses’ rights under the First and Fifth amendments to the U.S. Constitution, effectively asking the court to apply strict scrutiny in determining the rule’s constitutionality.
  • OSHA’s announcement of the final rule in May 2016, which put in place new electronic recordkeeping and reporting requirements among companies with more than 20 employees, was met with pushback from construction industry trade groups concerning the exposure of private data.

 

Dive Insight:

The January lawsuit claimed that OSHA doesn’t have the authority to create what it says will be a public database for employers’ injury and illness records, and it argues that the information’s publication won’t impact workplace safety or health. Instead, the lawsuit calls the rule “an imposition on businesses” and says that the publication of “confidential and proprietary information” could be misused, exposing the business “to significant reputational harm.”

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San Clemente Company Ordered to Give Back Pay After Wage Violations

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

A San Clemente electrical services firm paid more than $240,000 in back wages to just over 100 employees after a Department of Labor investigation found the company violated overtime and record-keeping regulations.

Solis Lighting and Electrical Services was found to have not paid workers overtime after 40 hours, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The company also deducted a 30-minute meal break from the daily hours of workers, even as they worked through their break.

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