Houston, TX - A prime contractor has paid $163,782 in back wages and fringe benefits to 44 ironworkers after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that its subcontractor had underpaid the workers.

The investigation conducted by the Wage and Hour district office in Houston determined that the firm had contracted with the subcontractor to provide commercial construction at a transportation unit of the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority.

The investigation further found that the subcontractor had misclassified the ironworkers under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. As a result, the subcontractor was in violation of the prevailing wage provisions of the Act and the overtime provisions of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act.

Davis-Bacon applies to federally-funded and certain federally-assisted construction contracts in the United States. The Act requires that every covered construction contract in excess of $2,000 contain a wage determination reflecting wages and fringe benefits prevailing in the locality, and that contractors pay laborers and mechanics no less than that prevailing wage rate. The Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act requires payment of overtime at one-and one-half the hourly wage rate to laborers and mechanics employed on covered contracts.

...back to 3 November 2005

Further information:
Houston-based Construction Company Paid $163,782 in Back Wages for 44 Ironworkers

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