US Labor Department recovers $1.2M for workers on Manhattan’s federally funded Chambers Street Project

NEW YORK – Sixty-three workers employed on the federally funded reconstruction of Chambers Street between Broadway and West St. in Lower Manhattan will receive a total of $1,190,861 in back wages following an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, in keeping with a consent order  approved by the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that between August 2010 and September 2013, flagpersons employed by Judlau Contracting Inc., a College Point-based prime contractor, and Network of Patrols Inc., their Queens-based first-tier subcontractor, were paid between $12 and $19.88 per hour instead of the prevailing wage rate and fringe benefits of $39.69 per hour required by the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.

The investigation also found workers did not receive all the overtime they were due under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act when they worked more than 40 hours in a week. The department’s Office of the Solicitor filed an administrative proceeding in February 2016 against Judlau and Network.  Under the order, 43 Judlau employees will receive $1,078,885 in unpaid wages, and 21 Network employees will receive $111,976 in unpaid wages. One worker was employed by both companies.

“Taxpayers, who ultimately funded this project, have a right to expect that federal contractors understand their obligations and comply with the law,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Mark Watson. “When Judlau and Network, or any other employer, fail to pay their employees their legally required wages they get an unfair advantage over employers who obey the law.”

“When employers do not pay workers their rightful wages, the U.S. Department of Labor will pursue appropriate legal remedies on the workers’ behalf,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey Rogoff. “We are committed to enforcing these laws to protect both employers and employees. We will continue to use all of the enforcement and legal tools we have to ensure that taxpayer dollars used to fund such contracts are properly spent.”

DBRA require all contractors and subcontractors performing work on federal and certain federally funded projects to pay their laborers and mechanics the proper prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits, as determined by the secretary of labor. The CWHSSA requires contractors and subcontractors on federal and federally assisted construction contracts over $100,000 to pay laborers and mechanics employed in the performance of the contracts one and one-half times their basic rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

The division’s New York City District Office conducted the investigation, while attorneys from the department’s Office of the Regional Solicitor in New York litigated the case for the division.

For additional information about these and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, call its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.

U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Administrative Law Judges
In the Matter of:
Judlau Contracting Inc., Prime Contractor
Network of Patrols Inc., First-Tier Subcontractor
Case Number: 2016-DBA-00010