COVID-19 creates more competitive bidding for city construction projects (SD)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Posted: May 11, 2020

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – It’s not business as usual for public construction projects but it isn’t poor business.
While the coronavirus pandemic is causing likely declines in local sales tax revenue, it’s also caused some lowering of prices for city street projects.

“The majority of our (bids) have come in at the estimates or below since COVID-19,” Mark Cotter, director of public works in Sioux Falls, said.

“With the bids coming in the last month, we’ve had more bidders and very competitive prices,” Cotter said. “It’s a great time for cities, states and counties for bidding on projects if they’ve got the resources (for projects).”

Increased competitive bidding has resulted in at least $1.6 million when approved bids are compared to original estimates in three major projects, which illustrates the benefits of more bidders.

Cotter said the construction project on 57th Street between Minnesota and Western was estimated to cost $2.07 million but the approved low bid was $1.7 million.

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Feds: Construction Company Imported H-2B Foreign Workers to Pay Low Wages (SD)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

A South Dakota construction company imported foreign workers on the H-2B visa program in order to cut costs and pay lower wages, Labor Department officials say.

By John Binder
Oct. 21, 2019

Every year, U.S. companies are allowed to import 66,000 low-skilled H-2B foreign workers to take blue-collar, non-agricultural jobs. For some time, the H-2B visa program has been used by businesses to bring in cheaper foreign workers and has contributed to blue-collar Americans having their wages undercut.

Dagel Steel Construction, based in Florence, South Dakota, violated federal law by recruiting H-2B foreign workers from South Africa and Mexico to take jobs in the United States only to pay them below-market wages, according to the Labor Department.

The construction company paid H-2B foreign workers low wages, assigned them to work in locations not authorized by the Labor Department, to work jobs outside of the workers’ job descriptions, as well as failing to pay for the workers’ housing costs, visa fees, transportation costs. The company deducted money from the workers’ already low wages.
Labor Department official Betty Campbell said in a statement:

The U.S. Department of Labor sought debarment of Dagel Steel Construction because the employer failed to comply with well-documented requirements of the H-2B Visa Program. The employer’s obligations are clearly detailed during the process of seeking certification to hire temporary foreign laborers.

Now, Dagel Steel Construction will be banned from importing foreign workers through the various H visa programs for five years and must pay nearly $70,000 in back wages to 16 H-2B foreign workers. The company also must pay more than $30,000 in civil penalties.

For nearly three years, President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has routinely expanded the number of H-2B foreign workers that businesses are allowed to import to take blue-collar U.S. jobs. In May, for example, Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan approved an additional 30,000 H-2B foreign workers for businesses to import.

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US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR SIGNS AGREEMENT TO PROTECT WORKERS FROM MISCLASSIFICATION WITH SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND REGULATION

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

WHD News Brief: 06/01/2016
Release Number: 16-1055-NAT
Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division
South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation

Partnership description: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding intended to protect employees’ rights by preventing their misclassification as independent contractors or other non-employee statuses. The two agencies will provide clear, accurate, and easy-to-access outreach to employers, employees, and other stakeholders, share resources, and enhance enforcement by conducting joint investigations and sharing information consistent with applicable law.

…

Quotes: “The Wage and Hour Division continues to attack this problem head-on through a combination of a robust education and outreach campaign, and nationwide, data-driven strategic enforcement across industries,” said David Weil, administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. “Our goal is always to strive toward workplaces with decreased misclassification, increased compliance, and more workers receiving a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.” David Weil, U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division Administrator

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