Deval LLC to pay more than $288K in fringe benefits, prevailing wages to 58 Dallas workers following US Department of Labor investigation

DALLAS — Deval LLC, a federal contractor for loan servicing support, did not pay its employees the prevailing wages or fringe benefits they rightfully earned under the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation has found. The company has a contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Investigators in the division's Dallas District Office determined the company violated federal law when it did not pay permanent employees and temporary employees hired through staffing agencies for health and welfare benefits or holidays. Deval has agreed to pay 58 employees $253,072 in fringe benefits and $35,593 in prevailing wages for SCA violations.

"Employers who enter into federal contracts are responsible for knowing and following the regulations governing these contracts. When they ignore their responsibilities, they not only cheat their own employees, they gain an unfair advantage over those employers who obey the law," said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest.

Deval offers loan servicing options primarily to HUD, including loan modification, loss mitigation, debt collections and assistance in foreclosure procedures. The company has also agreed to abide by the law in the future.

The SCA requires contractors and subcontractors performing services on prime contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees in various classes no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality, or the rates, including prospective increases, contained in a predecessor contractor's collective bargaining agreement. Requiring prevailing wages on these contracts protects local contractors from being underbid by those from other areas who may otherwise be able to recruit and bring in less expensive labor. It benefits local employees and local economies and supports good, local middle-class jobs. For more information, visit http://www.dol.gov/whd/govcontracts/sca.htm.

For more information about federal wage laws, or to file a complaint, call the Wage and Hour Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or its Dallas District Office at 817-861-2150. Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.