Federal investigators cite Florida roofing contractor for willfully, repeatedly ignoring fall protection standards, propose $349K in fines

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Federal investigators cite Florida roofing contractor for willfully, repeatedly ignoring fall protection standards, propose $349K in fines ORLANDO, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a Florida roofing company for willfully putting workers at risk of falling at residential construction sites. Investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that on Jan. 21, 2026, Orchids Builders LLC exposed workers to a 10-foot fall hazard when it failed to provide them with fall protection while they installed sheathing on a sloped roof at a Rockledge worksite. On March 10, 2026, OSHA investigators found the employer exposed a worker to a 9-foot fall hazard while installing metal hurricane clips at another Rockledge worksite. OSHA also found that Orchids Builders failed to prepare and maintain written fall protection training certificates for employees at both worksites, did not ensure workers had eye protection while using nail guns,...
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US Department of Labor recovers $633K in back wages for 84 workers for violations by District of Columbia development site’s subcontractors

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US Department of Labor recovers $633K in back wages for 84 workers for violations by District of Columbia development site’s subcontractors
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $633,029 in back wages for 84 workers denied their full wages and benefits by subcontractors involved in construction of an affordable housing development funded by the District of Columbia. Three offices of the department’s Wage and Hour Division conducted investigations of six subcontractors hired to work on The Bridge project in the district’s southeast section by the development’s general contractor, McCullough Construction and its first-tier subcontractors. The division found the employers violated the Davis- Bacon Act, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The division recovered $292,193 in back wages for 14 employees of MTZ Electric Service LLC of Laurel, Maryland, after determining the subcontractor misclassified workers as independent contractors, failed to pay prevailing wage rates and the required overtime premium, failed to provide health and welfare fringe benefits, and violated recordkeeping requirements when it omitted workers from certified payroll records and falsified certified payroll records. Colonial Electric Company Inc. of Harwood, Maryland – the first-tier subcontractor that hired MTZ Electric – agreed to pay the back wages. To resolve the case, MTZ’s owner, Victor Martinez, signed a consent agreement to accept debarment, which prohibits the employer from bidding on federally funded construction projects for a period of three years. The division also recovered $253,146 in back wages for seven workers of Igloo Construction Inc. in Westminster, Maryland. Investigators found the employer failed to pay proper prevailing wages and fringe benefits, falsified certified payroll records, and hired a labor broker who failed to report its workers on weekly certified payroll records. The division held the first-tier contractor – Titan Mechanical Inc. of Manassas Park, Virginia – liable for the back wages because they failed to include the required Davis-Bacon labor standards’ clauses in their subcontract with Igloo. The division also found the DBRA and CWHSSA violations by the following subcontractors: Subcontractor Location Violations Workers Wages M&Y Exteriors LLC Manassas, VA Misclassification of employees; CWHSSA overtime premium owed 7 $53,451 Muller Construction LLC Springfield, VA Prevailing wage and fringe benefits owed; falsified records; workers omitted from records; CWHSSA overtime premium owed 5 $19,460 Allied Drywall Construction Inc. Washington D.C. Prevailing wage and fringe benefits owed 45 $10,051 Diverse Masonry Corp. Catharpin, Virginia Prevailing wage and fringe benefits owed. 6 $4,728 “Contractors must properly incorporate the applicable wage determination and the Davis-Bacon labor standards clauses directly into all lower-tier subcontract agreements when working on a federally funded construction project. We are here to assist contractors and subcontractors with questions about the federal labor requirements and help ensure they comply with all applicable laws,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Mark Watson, in Philadelphia. Learn more about the DBRA, the CWHSSA and other laws enforced by the division including a search tool if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, available for iOS and Android devices, and now available in Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate. Learn more about Wage and Hour Division.

Published at March 19, 2023 at 05:00PM
Read more at https://dol.gov

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