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Mills administration cracking down on employer wage and hour violations

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

BY PETER MCGUIRE | STAFF WRITER
February 6

The state Department of Labor returned about $470,000 in unpaid wages to Maine workers in 2021, almost double the amount in 2019. Now it is naming violators online.

Since Gov. Janet Mills took office three years ago, the Maine Department of Labor has escalated its pursuit of illegal workplace practices including wage theft, child labor and false record keeping, a significant departure from past practices at the agency.

The number of inspectors at the department’s Wage and Hour Division has doubled. The amount of unpaid wages recovered for workers has skyrocketed. In an unprecedented move, two employers have been shut down permanently for wage theft. And now, the department will regularly publish business names and violation details in an online database.

Collectively, the changes reflect a shift in the department’s effort to find and resolve a serious offense against some of Maine’s most economically vulnerable workers. But labor advocates say a lot more could still be done.

“It is just a matter of trying to make the best use of limited resources to protect workers from abuses, and protect law-abiding employers from unfair competition that comes with employment law violations,” said Michael Roland, director of the state Bureau of Labor Standards. “We just felt we could be more effective given the resources we have.”

In 2018, there were just four inspectors working at the bureau. As of this year, it has nine inspectors and an assistant attorney general specifically tasked with pursuing wage and hour cases.

(Read More)

Illinois lawmakers consider bill to make general contractors responsible for other’s unpaid wages (IL)

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By Cole Lauterbach
The Center Square | Jul 19, 2019

Illinois lawmakers are considering sending Gov. J.B. Pritzker legislation that would put general contractors on the hook for any wages a subcontractor failed to pay workers.

The House passed the legislation this spring. Should Pritzker sign the bill into law, any general contractor who hires a subcontractor that doesn’t properly pay employees could be sued for those wages.

Sponsoring Senator Laura Fine, D-Glenview, said wage theft has become common

“Wage theft could range anything to not paying workers for hours they work to not paying the legal minimum wage,” she said.

Fine said she wanted to get as much feedback from opponents as possible, signaling that she may amend the bill.

Bill Ward of the Homebuilders Association of Illinois said no one supports wage theft, but the bill, as it’s written, would increase costs for companies due to the increased risk of getting sued.

“This bill says an innocent person who has paid the subcontractor in whole, the general contractor, can be gone after,” he said.

Fine said the bill would allow general contractors to be exempt from the law if they get verification from the subcontractor that they’ve paid all of their people, but Republicans in the House said that would be a significant burden for a general contractor to undertake.

(Read More)

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General contractor also found responsible for unpaid wages under contractor liability law that went into effect in 2018 (CA)

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LOS ANGELES, May 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/

The Labor Commissioner’s Office has issued citations totaling $597,933 in unpaid wages and penalties to Universal Structural Building Corp. of Chatsworth after 62 construction workers were never paid for weeks of work on two projects in Hollywood and Ventura. J.H McCormick Inc., a general contractor for one project, was named jointly and severally responsible for $68,657 of the citations pursuant to a section of the labor code added last year by Assembly Bill 1701 that holds general contractors liable for their subcontractor’s wage theft violations.

“Up-the-chain general contractors are now responsible for wage theft committed by their subcontractors on all construction projects in the state,” said California Labor Secretary Julie A. Su. “General contractors who choose subcontractors that do not pay wages owed will pay a hefty price. The Labor Commissioner’s Office will use all the tools at its disposal to return these stolen wages – including the placement of liens on these properties which will have a hold until the labor these workers poured into these projects is paid for in full.”

The Labor Commissioner’s Office has filed a civil action with the Los Angeles Superior Court against J.H McCormick to help secure funds to pay back wages.

(Read More)

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ATTORNEY GENERAL’S LEGISLATION STRENGTHENING WAGE THEFT LAWS AND INCREASING PENALTIES PASSES LEGISLATURE WITH BIPARTISAN SUPPORT (WA)

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By Washington State Office of the Attorney General
Apr 19th, 2019

OLYMPIA – The Legislature passed Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s agency request legislation strengthening Washington’s wage theft laws in the prevailing wage arena. Prevailing wage is most common in government contracts. Prevailing wage laws prevent a “race to the bottom” as contractors seek to lower worker pay in order to underbid each other.

The bill, SB 5035, increases the maximum penalty for prevailing wage violations from one thousand dollars or 20 percent of the violation, whichever is greater, to five thousand dollars or 50 percent of the violation, whichever is greater. These penalties have not increased since 1985.

Ferguson’s legislation also closes a major loophole in Washington’s prevailing wage laws that allows repeat and willful violators to avoid a penalty or sanction if they respond to a wage complaint by returning the stolen pay to the worker before the state can take additional legal action. This loophole derives from the state’s limited authority to file enforcement actions when there are “unpaid wages” – a term that was undefined before now.

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“This bill ensures that employers who cheat their workers out of hard-earned pay will face consequences, the same as you or I would face if we stole something,” said Ferguson. “Allowing the state to pursue penalties against employers that intentionally rip off their workers protects hardworking Washingtonians and their families.”

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The Washington Building Trades, Faith Action Network and Working Washington also supported SB 5035.

(Read More)

City of Industry construction firm fined nearly $12 million for wage theft (CA)

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The violations impacted more than 1,000 workers at projects in Los Angeles and Orange counties

By KEVIN SMITH PUBLISHED: February 11, 2019 at 5:11 pm

A City of Industry construction firm has been fined nearly $12 million in what state regulators are calling the biggest wage theft violation ever by a private company in California.

The state Labor Commissioner’s Office announced Monday, Feb. 11 that it cited RDV Construction Inc. for violations that left more than a thousand workers waiting weeks or months to be paid, only to receive a portion of what they were owed.

The company hired crews to provide framing, drywall and other trade work for hotels, apartments and mixed-use buildings around Southern California.

A litany of violations

Investigators determined that between 2014 and 2017, RDV employed more than 1,000 workers at 35 construction sites scattered primarily throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties and typically worked its crews nine hours a day without proper rest breaks or overtime pay.

The company “habitually and illegally” withheld up to 25 percent of the wages workers earned, investigators said, and during a 21-month period, they were paid with checks that bounced due to insufficient funds.
RDV projects have included the Crown Apartments complex in West Hollywood and Boardwalk by Windsor, an upscale apartment community in Huntington Beach, among others.

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“Dodging labor laws and stealing wages hurts workers and creates unfair conditions for law-abiding employers,” California Labor Secretary Julie A. Su said in a statement. “Stealing earned wages from workers’ pockets is illegal in California and this case shows that employers who steal from their workers will end up paying for it in the end.”

The citations total $11,943,054 payable to workers in unpaid wages and premiums…

(Read More)

Construction workers rally for unpaid wages (TN)

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Posted: 8:21 PM, Feb 05, 2019

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) – Construction workers and Metro Council Members gathered at the steps of the Historic Metro Courthouse Tuesday night, denouncing what they call “legal attacks” made by general contractor Skanska.

Workers who helped build the J.W. Marriott in downtown Nashville are part of an ongoing labor dispute against two drywall subcontractors hired by Skanska, a company currently building the Fifth + Broadway development downtown. At least one hundred workers say they are still owed two weeks worth of pay.

Advocates say a group of affected workers and community supporters visited Skanska’s offices in December, and were promised a follow up meeting.

But days later, advocates say names of some of the workers appeared in counter-lawsuit against their original mechanic’s liens claims.

“We believe that in our city all workers deserve good working conditions and it is our duty to ensure that their rights are upheld, protected, and that we in this city start creating more and more enforcement mechanisms to do exactly that,” said Metro Council member Fabian Bedne.

Cesar Ramirez, an affected J.W. Marriott worker, said: “We won’t stop until justice is made here, we feel betrayed that after giving [Skanska regional Vice President Dennis Georgatos] the benefit of the doubt, and believing that Skanska truly wanted a positive resolution, what we got in return, was one more attack in court.”

Workers and community supporters are demanding back pay from Skanska, and for the company to drop their counter-suit.


(Read More)

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CONTRACTOR SENTENCED FOR CRIMINAL WAGE THEFT, FALSE REPORTING OF WORKERS’ COMP PAYMENTS (WA)

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By Office of the Attorney General (Washington State)
July 27th, 2018

Alejandro Sandoval and his company must pay back $25,000 in workers’ wages

SEATTLE – A Maple Valley contractor and his company must pay back more than $25,000 in unpaid wages in addition to unreported workers’ compensation insurance after a joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I).

Alejandro Sandoval and his company, Sandoval Construction, were sentenced today in King County Superior Court after pleading guilty to false reporting and first-degree theft. As part of the plea deal, Sandoval Construction is ordered to reimburse the workers for their unpaid wages and Sandoval will be responsible for unpaid workers’ compensation insurance payments to the state.

Under separate civil proceedings, he owes L&I at least $197,000 in unpaid premiums, interest and penalties.

“Wage theft is a crime, and as long as I’m Attorney General, those that steal from their workers will be prosecuted,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said. “Thanks to the coordinated efforts of my office and L&I, these workers will be paid for their work.”

“People work hard and deserve to be paid fully and on time,” said L&I Director Joel Sacks. “Teaming up with the Attorney General gives us the extra hammer of criminal prosecution to collect wages for workers and reduce workers’ comp costs for employers.”

L&I enforces workplace rights and administers the state workers’ compensation insurance system that helps injured workers heal and return to work. When employers cheat and fail to pay their fair share, those who follow the rules pay higher premiums.

The Attorney General’s Office began its criminal investigation in 2016 after L&I received complaints from a dozen workers for Sandoval and his company, alleging Sandoval Construction had not paid them $25,620 in wages that they were owed.

In addition, an L&I audit revealed that Sandoval had underreported his workers’ compensation payments to the state agency, despite deducting them from employee paychecks. The audit, which covered a sampling of four different quarters, found he owed more than twice what he reported to L&I in that timeframe.

(Read More)

Oregon House OKs construction worker wage protection

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Contractor would have to pay under some conditions

By: KTVZ.COM news sources
Posted: Feb 26, 2018 01:30 PM PST
Updated: Feb 26, 2018 01:33 PM PST

SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon House on Monday narrowly passed House Bill 4154B, which would provide construction workers with additional wage theft protections, under certain circumstances.

The legislation, championed by Rep. Julie Fahey (D-West Eugene, Junction City, Bethel), would require a general contractor to pay the wages or benefits owed to a worker by a delinquent subcontractor if a specific set of conditions is met, according to a news release from Oregon House Democrats.

“The goal of this bill is to protect wages for workers in the construction industry by adding accountability for general contractors in certain specific situations,” Rep. Faheysaid. “When workers aren’t paid what they have earned, it hurts workers and their families. It also hurts our local economies and reduces tax revenue.”

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This legislation would create a new process through which the construction workers employed by subcontractors would be able to claim unpaid wages.

(Read More)

DA cracking down on wage theft by construction contractors (NY)

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By Priscilla DeGregory and Emily Saul
December 4, 2017 | 4:36pm

The city’s five district attorneys have agreed to crack down on wage theft by construction contractors – after an investigation revealed that more than $1.2 million in wages had been illegally withheld from workers.

The state Department of Labor has uncovered some 400 cases since it began looking into wage theft earlier this year. Nearly $700,000 has been returned so far, authorities said, and the investigation is ongoing.

“Every week, New Yorkers lose $20 million in unpaid wages. And every day, construction workers who risk their lives doing dangerous jobs have to wonder whether they’ll actually be paid for their work,” Manhattan DA Cy Vance said Monday.

Wage theft is one of the most pervasive problems in New York City and State, and in the construction industry in particular, workers are all too often preyed upon by their employers, who are able to steal millions of dollars in unpaid wages.

(Read More)

EXCLUSIVE: Cuomo to propose bill that clamps down on wage theft from out-of-state companies (NY)

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KENNETH LOVETT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, January 7, 2017, 9:00 PM

 

ALBANY – Gov. Cuomo is set to propose legislation that will allow the state to aggressively go after wage theft in New York, the Daily News has learned.

The bill, to be announced as part of the governor’s State of the State agenda he’ll be releasing this week, would hold the top 10 officials from out-of-state limited liability companies, or LLCs, personally financially liable for unsatisfied judgments for unpaid wages.

The legislation will empower the state Labor Department commissioner to enforce such liabilities.

The idea, Cuomo said, is to recover more money employees were cheated out of when businesses went bankrupt – and went on to create spinoff limited liability companies registered in other states or hid their assets in other ways.

“New York is committed to ensuring a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work and has zero tolerance for those who seek to exploit their workers,” Cuomo said.
“With this proposal we will help ensure that no matter where bad actors try to hide, they will not be able to skirt their obligations to hard-working New Yorkers. ”

(Read More)