Union workers: More coming forward against wage theft

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By Bill Shaner
April 12, 2018

Carpenters and activists again rallied in front of the 145 Front St. development earlier this week, but this time for a different reason: They were taking a victory lap of sorts, after a subcontractor on the job was forced to pay a carpenter $15,000 in a wrongful termination settlement.

P&B Partitions, a subcontractor hired by Erland Construction for sheet wall work, was forced by the National Labor Relations Board to pay contractor Eddie Vasquez $15,200 in back pay and $147 in interest, according to a copy of the settlement. Vasquez was fired, according to a release from the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, after he started working with the union on a wage theft case and encouraging others to join the effort.

Vasquez himself was at the rally, and said the money was overdue, but the larger issue of wage theft, of which the union now has 12 open cases, is still ongoing. The carpenters union rallied outside of 145 Front St. weekly for much of last year, demanding a resolution to the wage theft cases.

“We got the upper hand. More workers are coming forward. More workers are telling the truth,” said Vasquez. “What happens is, they prey on the weak. These companies prey on the weak.”

The U.S. Department of Labor complaints the union filed against the contractor are still under review. The cases, including Vasquez’s, mostly center around cash overtime pay promised but never delivered, according to the union. While only 12 complaints have been filed, Vasquez said the number of workers who weren’t paid overtime on the job is closer to 30.

Union organizer Manny Gines said a main goal of the antiwage theft effort, which would be addressed by a wage theft bill currently in the state Senate, is making sure companies with a record of cheating workers don’t get brought on jobs. As it stands now, Gines said, nothing prevents companies from hiring subcontractors with a history of wage theft.

“The bottom line is, they want to use cheap labor,” said Gines. “We’re trying to hold them accountable.”

(Read More)

US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division Prevailing Wage Seminars

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

DESCRIPTION

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Prevailing Wage Seminars are three-day compliance trainings designed for regional stakeholders (private contractors, state agencies, unions, federal agencies and workers).

The first two days of the seminar will consist of either courses on the Davis-Bacon Act or the Service Contract Act. The third day will feature courses concerning the Executive Orders and subject matter related to both the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act as well as presentations from other agencies such as OSHA, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

We have selected the following locations for our 2018 seminars:

If you would like to receive email updates about our seminars, please sign up for our mailing list here. (In the category “Wage and Hour” select “WHD – Prevailing Wage Seminar Announcements”)

For any questions please contact WHD-PWS@dol.gov

(Visit DOL’s WHD Website)

Study finds Indiana common construction wage repeal reduced worker pay, didn’t save money on public works projects

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By Dan Carden
Jan 29, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS – When Gov. Mike Pence signed the 2015 repeal of Indiana’s common construction wage statute, the Republican proclaimed that eliminating county minimum pay rates for public works projects would save the state and local governments money without reducing the paychecks of Hoosier workers.

“Wages on public projects should be set by the marketplace and not by government bureaucracy,” Pence said at the time.

“By repealing the common construction wage, our state is putting hardworking taxpayers first, lessening the burden on cash-strapped local governments and schools, and opening doors of opportunity for small businesses across our state.”

Three years later, the first in-depth, non-partisan analysis of the impact of Indiana’s common construction wage repeal suggests that Pence was wrong.

The Midwest Economic Policy Institute, in a report provided exclusively to The Times, determined that following common wage repeal Hoosiers working in the construction industry are earning less than they were before, with no meaningful cost savings for Indiana taxpayers.

Worker pay, productivity decline

The institute used U.S. Department of Labor statistics for the four quarters preceding repeal of Indiana’s common wage, also known as the prevailing wage, and the four quarters after to determine how the policy enacted by the Republican-controlled General Assembly affected 10 market outcomes.

The study found that construction wages fell in Indiana by an average of 8.5 percent following repeal of the common construction wage, with the lowest-paid workers seeing their paychecks drop by 15 percent.

(Read More)

(See Full PDF of Study)

Labor Department delays full Fiduciary Rule for additional 18 months

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

08/10/2017
By Mark Huffman

The Labor Department has served notice that it intends to delay full implementation of the Fiduciary Rule until July 2019.

The government revealed the delay in a brief filed in a court in Minnesota, where it is a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Thrivent Financial. Previously, the Trump Administration had said it would delay key provisions of the Obama Administration rule until January 2018.

The Fiduciary Rule requires financial advisors to always place the client’s interests ahead of their own. While that might sound fairly straightforward, the financial services industry has resisted that.

One argument is that advisors who make no commissions from the investments their clients make would have to charge so much for their advice that only wealthy investors could afford their services. However, some experts say that delaying the rule further will only make it easier for firms to stall their implentation efforts.

“We have consistently opposed any additional delay, which will only serve to increase uncertainty over the rule’s ultimate fate,” Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at Consumer Federation of America, told ConsumerAffairs.

(Read More)

Lies surrounding Davis Bacon compliance land concrete contractor jail time

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

WHD News Release: 07/27/2017
Release Number: 17-1028-SAN

PORTLAND, Ore. – The owner of an Oregon concrete company that contracted with the federal government recently started a two-month prison sentence for lying to federal investigators. The crime occurred when he told U.S. Department of Labor officials that he had paid employees more than $93,000 in back wages that the Department’s Wage and Hour Division found the company owed its workers following a 2014 investigation.

The Department’s investigation revealed that Westwind Concrete had failed to pay the proper prevailing wage rates on a project in Tualatin in violation of the Davis Bacon and Related Acts, which applied because the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development financed the project. Westwind Concrete is based in Cloverdale.

Westwind owner Jeffery Hurliman assured the division that he would pay more than $93,000 in back wages he owed to 27 workers and later provided certifications that he claimed were from his employees attesting to having received back wages.

The Department’s Office of Inspector General investigated Hurliman after officials in the division’s Portland office noted discrepancies on the proofs of payment. The investigation revealed that the certifications were falsified and that when Hurliman learned about the investigation, he offered money to employees to lie to investigators.

The Department’s findings led to federal criminal prosecution against Hurliman and a two-month prison sentence. Hurliman agreed to a deal in January 2017 in which he pleaded guilty to witness tampering and providing false statements to the government, both felonies, and began his sentence on June 15, 2017. He will be on supervised release for three years following his release from prison on Aug. 15, 2017. In the meantime, the department has sued to prevent him from obtaining future government contracts.

(Read More)

2017 SCA Health & Welfare Fringe Benefit Increase

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

The McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act requires contractors and subcontractors performing services on prime contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees in various classes no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality, or the rates (including prospective increases) contained in a predecessor contractor’s collective bargaining agreement. The Department of Labor issues wage determinations on a contract-by-contract basis in response to specific requests from contracting agencies. These determinations are incorporated into the contract.

The health and welfare fringe benefit is one of the required SCA fringe benefits. Effective August 1, 2017, the prevailing health and welfare fringe benefits issued under the SCA will increase to a rate of $4.41 per hour.

Executive Order 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors (EO 13706), requires certain employers that contract with the federal government to provide their employees with up to 56 hours (seven days) of paid sick leave annually, including for family care and absences resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. EO 13706 applies to new contracts with the federal government that result from solicitations issued on or after January 1, 2017 (or that are awarded outside the solicitation process on or after January 1, 2017).

To comply with EO 13706, an alternate health and welfare rate has been established that excludes the sick leave portion of the calculated health and welfare rate. The SCA health and welfare fringe benefits level for employees performing on contracts covered by EO 13706 will be $4.13 per hour.

(Dol.gov- SCA Home Page)

Labor Secretary to Start Building Apprenticeship Task Force

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Jul 25, 2017
Thomasnet.com

The U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta has opened up nominations for the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion. According to a recent news release from the Department of Labor, creating the task force is the first step in implementing President Donald Trump’s executive order to expand apprenticeships.

In June, President Trump said that apprenticeships could help fill millions of open jobs, however he was reticent to dedicate additional taxpayer money to the program.
According to the Department of Labor (DoL), the current number of active apprenticeships in the United States is 505,371.

In March, Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff challenged the president to create five million apprenticeships over the next five years. President Trump accepted the challenge, and his proposed budget includes a $5 million increase ($95 million overall) in spending appropriated for apprenticeships.

Secretary Acosta will chair the task force, which has been charged with identifying ways to promote apprenticeships, particularly in sectors where apprenticeship programs are currently insufficient.

The task force will create a final report for President Trump that will include:
  • Recommendations on federal initiatives to promote apprenticeships.
  • Administrative and legislative reforms that will facilitate the formation and success of apprenticeship programs.
  • The most effective strategies for creating industry-recognized apprenticeships.
  • The most effective strategies for amplifying and encouraging private-sector initiatives to promote apprenticeships.

(Read More)

USDOL Wage & Hour Division – 2017 Prevailing Wage Seminars

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Join us at a Prevailing Wage Seminar in your region in 2017!

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Prevailing Wage Seminars (Prevailing Wage Seminars) are three-day compliance trainings designed for regional stakeholders (unions, private contractors, state agencies, federal agencies and workers). In these seminars, conference participants will learn about the following:

  • The Davis-Bacon Act and McNamara O’Hara Service Contract Act
  • Executive Order 13495 “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers”
  • Executive Order 13658 “Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors”
  • The process of obtaining wage determinations and adding classifications
  • Compliance assistance and enforcement processes
  • The process for appealing wage rates, coverage, and compliance determinations

 

Prevailing Wage Seminars for 2017 are being scheduled in the following cities

  • Pittsburgh, PA – August 15-17, 2017

 

(Read More)

USDOL Wage & Hour Division Announces 2017 Prevailing Wage Seminars

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Join us at a Prevailing Wage Seminar in your region in 2017!

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Prevailing Wage Seminars (Prevailing Wage Seminars) are three-day compliance trainings designed for regional stakeholders (unions, private contractors, state agencies, federal agencies and workers). In these seminars, conference participants will learn about the following:

  • The Davis-Bacon Act and McNamara O’Hara Service Contract Act
  • Executive Order 13495 “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers”
  • Executive Order 13658 “Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors”
  • The process of obtaining wage determinations and adding classifications
  • Compliance assistance and enforcement processes
  • The process for appealing wage rates, coverage, and compliance determinations

 

Prevailing Wage Seminars for 2017 are being scheduled in the following cities:

  • Pittsburgh, PA – TBD

 

(Read More)

Happy Holidays From The DOL: User-Friendly Webpage On Independent Contractors Misclassification Arrives

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Monday, December 19, 2016
Greg Guidry

On December 19, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued what it describes as a “user-friendly webpage where workers, employers, and government agencies can find information and resources” about misclassification of workers as independent contractors.

In the announcement about its new educational and resource tool, the DOL states that the misclassification of employees as independent contractors is a “huge problem for workers, employers who play by the rules and our economy.” It also quotes two alleged victims of misclassification, a taxi driver who said he was underpaid and subjected to terrible working conditions akin to “modern day slavery,” and a masonry contractor who said that misclassification “makes for an unfair playing field” that “has to stop.”

In the cover page, the DOL states that it supports the use of legitimate independent contractors, but when employers deliberately misclassify employees as independent contractors in an attempt to cut costs, everyone loses. The DOL then states that “this new resource offers information about how misclassification affects pay, unemployment insurance, safety and health protections, retirement and health benefits, and taxes. It then pleads to the user: “Help us address this problem by learning more.”

(Read More)

(USDOL Misclassification Resource Tool)