US Department of Labor secures $1.78 million in back wages for 700 Washington, DC, security guards

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has secured an agreement to disburse $1.78 million in back wages to approximately 700 employees of Hawk One Security, a Washington, D.C., security guard contractor that failed to pay employees for work performed in September and October 2009.

"Today's announcement is the culmination of work by the department's Wage and Hour Division and its Office of the Solicitor staff to secure the payment of the wages owed these workers," said the division's deputy administrator, Nancy J. Leppink. "The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring all employees receive the wages they are entitled to under the laws that we enforce."

The Wage and Hour Division's Baltimore District Office, in consultation with regional staff of the department's Office of the Solicitor, began investigating Hawk One Security Inc. when it failed to make payroll on three District of Columbia government contracts. The district's government transferred withheld contract funds to the U.S. Department of Labor for disbursement to the affected workers in December 2009.

However, AmeriFactors Financial Group LLC, a Celebration, Fla.-based diversified financial services company with contractual rights to Hawk One's accounts receivable, refused to consent to the disbursement of the funds. AmeriFactors has now signed an authorization allowing the Wage and Hour Division to begin paying the workers with the withheld contract funds. The division already has begun taking steps to expedite payment of back wages.

Under the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, contractors and subcontractors performing on federal or District of Columbia service contracts in excess of $2,500 must pay their service workers no less than the wages and fringe benefits prevailing in the locality.

For more information about this investigation, call the Wage and Hour Division's Baltimore District Office at 410-962-6211. For more information about the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, call the division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit http://www.dol.gov/whd.