U.S. Labor Department recovers more than $1.4 million in back wages for 237 contract employees of USCIS Vermont Service Center

BOSTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $1.4 million in back wages for 237 employees of Computer Sciences Corp., a contractor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Vermont Service Center at various locations in St. Albans and Essex Junction, Vt.

Computer Sciences Corp. employed contract workers at the Vermont Service Center between Dec. 1, 2005 and Nov. 30, 2007 under federal service contracts subject to the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act's prevailing wage provisions. Following an investigation, the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division cited the company for misclassifying employees and failing to pay them the proper prevailing wage rates for the type of work they were actually performing.

"The laws governing prevailing wages on federal contracts grant clear protections to workers, and the Labor Department will continue to ensure companies are following the rules," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

The company agreed to pay a total of $1,448,505 in back wages to 237 workers. Payment is to be made by Oct. 31, 2009, and proof of payment is to be provided to the Wage and Hour Division by Dec. 13, 2009.

The McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act requires contractors and subcontractors performing on federal service contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality for the classification of work that they perform.

For more information about the provisions of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, call the Department of Labor's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit the Wage and Hour Division's Web site at http://www.wagehour.dol.gov.