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US Department of Labor sues National Maintenance Solutions, operator who denied workers wages, attempted to deport employees who complained

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US Department of Labor sues National Maintenance Solutions, operator who denied workers wages, attempted to deport employees who complained ALBANY, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit to recover back wages, liquidated damages, punitive damages and injunctive relief from a Tonawanda construction contractor that allegedly underpaid employees and tried to have employees who complained deported by calling federal immigration authorities.The action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found National Maintenance Solutions LLC and its president and founder, Thomas W. Pellette, did not pay minimum wage and overtime to employees working at hotels in Amherst, Buffalo and Hamburg, New York and in Erie, Pennsylvania. Specifically, the division found that they paid straight-time rates for overtime hours worked and, at times, paid partial wages sporadically or did not pay workers any wages for hours worked, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Ac
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US Department of Labor recovers $138K in back wages, damages for 27 construction workers denied overtime in Colorado Springs

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US Department of Labor recovers $138K in back wages, damages for 27 construction workers denied overtime in Colorado Springs Employer:                             Bulletproof Plumbing & Heating Inc. Investigation site:             6920 Ropers Point                                                      Colorado Springs, CO 80908Findings:                                The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Bulletproof Plumbing & Heating Inc. paid 27 non-exempt plumbers straight time for hours over 40 in a workweek, when time and one-half was required by federal law. Back wages recovered:        $69,050 in back wages for 27 employeesDamages recovered:              $69,050 in liquidated damages for 27 employeesQuote: “Construction workers often work long hours doing hard, strenuous jobs and they have the right to be paid the overtime they earn and are owed,” said Wage and Hour District Director David Skinner in Denver. “The Department of Labor is determined to
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US Department of Labor announces $12.7M in grants awarded

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US Department of Labor announces $12.7M in grants awarded WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded $12.7 million to 102 nonprofits nationwide to fund education and training initiatives designed to create safer workplaces.Administered by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, funds from the Susan Harwood Training Grants Program will support the delivery of training and education on hazard awareness, avoidance and controls, and inform workers of their rights and employers of their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This round of funding was awarded to programs in the categories of targeted topic training, training and educational materials development, and capacity building.“The Susan Harwood Training Grants are a critical investment that the Department of Labor makes to help workers know their rights and power – in turn making their workplace safer and healthier,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “This grant ho
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US Department of Labor obtains judgment to recover $550K in wages, damages for 614 shortchanged Las Vegas construction company workers

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US Department of Labor obtains judgment to recover $550K in wages, damages for 614 shortchanged Las Vegas construction company workers LAS VEGAS – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment recovering $550,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 614 employees from a Las Vegas construction company whose pay practices deprived the workers of their full wages.Entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, the judgment follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that determined Colvin Construction Inc. attempted to avoid paying overtime by failing to combine all hours worked by employees. While workers often averaged 55 hours per week, investigators found the employer failed to pay workers the required overtime rate of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for all hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition to the recovery of $275,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquid
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Department of Labor orders subsidiary of global building materials supplier to reinstate, compensate driver who raised safety concerns

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Department of Labor orders subsidiary of global building materials supplier to reinstate, compensate driver who raised safety concerns STEPHENSON, VA – A federal whistleblower investigation has found a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest building materials manufacturers fired a truck driver in September 2023 illegally after the employee raised concerns that the loads and routes their employer routinely assigned left them fatigued and ill, endangering themselves and others on the road.The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that the employee of W-L Construction & Paving Inc. - a subsidiary of CRH, a global provider of building materials solutions - first notified the company in July 2023 that their assigned work would exceed federal safety requirements for sufficient rest breaks and limits on how many hours commercial drivers are on duty. The company ignored the driver’s concerns and, for two more months, continued to assign load
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US Department of Labor recovers $77K for 5 employees denied prevailing wages at federally funded construction project in Massachusetts

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US Department of Labor recovers $77K for 5 employees denied prevailing wages at federally funded construction project in Massachusetts BOSTON – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $77,206 in back wages for five workers employed on a federally funded construction project after finding one subcontractor failed to pay prevailing wages and fringe benefits and another submitted falsified payroll records.The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that two Massachusetts contractors – Claras Construction Inc. and Westview Building Company Inc. – violated the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts while working on a project for the Brookline Housing Authority in 2023. Prime contractor Daniel O’Connell’s Sons Inc. of Holyoke subcontracted to Westview Building Company which, in turn, subcontracted with Claras Construction for framing work.The department discovered Claras Construction of Malden did not pay the required prevailing wage rate and fringe benefits to its workers and failed
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US Department of Labor recovers $44K in back wages, benefits for 12 apprentices incorrectly classified as laborers on Army jobsite

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US Department of Labor recovers $44K in back wages, benefits for 12 apprentices incorrectly classified as laborers on Army jobsite Employer:   Walker White Inc.Employer address:    7402 Fairfield Road, Columbia, SC 29203Investigation findings: A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation determined that Walker White Inc. – a subcontractor working on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ construction project at Fort Jackson – wrongly classified apprentices as laborers. In doing so, the employer did not pay the required prevailing wage rates, including the basic hourly rate and fringe benefits, in violation of the Davis-Bacon Act. Investigators also found the employer failed to pay overtime rates of time-and-one-half an employee’s basic rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act.Recoveries: $44,816 in back wages for 12 employees.Quote: “Contractors and subcontractors working on government projects using taxpa
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Department of Labor recovers $80K in wages for 55 employees shortchanged by employer contracted for Typhoon Mawar debris removal

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Department of Labor recovers $80K in wages for 55 employees shortchanged by employer contracted for Typhoon Mawar debris removal Employer:      UMS Heavy Equipment Rental Inc.                             3415 Maimai Road                             Chalan Pago, Guam 96910 Investigation findings: A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found construction subcontractor UMS Heavy Equipment Rental Inc. in violation of federal contract labor laws while under a multi-million federal service contract for management and disposal of debris resulting from Typhoon Mawar on Guam in May 2023. Investigators determined the employer violated federal labor laws by failing to pay $80,346 in minimum and prevailing wages, fringe benefits and overtime. Wages Recovered/Damages Assessed:        $48,843 in minimum wages for 43 workers.                                                                                          $24,764 in fringe benefits for 53 workers.                    
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