US Labor Department moves to debar US Senate cafeteria contractor for underpaying workers by more than $1M

Date of action:  December 29, 2016

Type of action:  McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act Debarment Action

Names of respondents:  Restaurant Associates LLC, Restaurant Associates Inc., and Dick Cattani
132 West 31^st Street, Suite 601, New York, NY 10001

Background:  In July 2016, federal contractors Restaurant Associates, LLC., Restaurant Associates, Inc., and their subcontractor, Personnel Plus, agreed to pay back wages in the amount of $1,008,302 to 674 workers after the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the contractors violated the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act by paying workers less than the wages required under the Act and failing to pay for all hours worked. The workers prepared and served meals for Capitol Hill lawmakers and their staffs in the U.S. Senate cafeteria. In September 2016, the contractors agreed to pay an additional $12,443 in back wages the division found due to four employees.

As a result of these violations of the Act, the department is initiating debarment proceedings to prevent Restaurant Associates LLC, Restaurant Associates Inc., and their principal officer, Dick Cattani, from serving as federal contractors. If debarred, the contractors would be placed on a list of ineligible government contract bidders for a three-year period.

Quote:  “Doing business with the federal government is a privilege and not a right,” said Oscar L. Hampton III, regional solicitor in Philadelphia. “Federal contractors should conduct their business in accordance with the highest standards and comply with the law by paying their workers the wages to which they are legally entitled. The complaint underscores those principles, and was filed to ensure a fair and level competitive playing field for all federal contractors and a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work for all those who perform work pursuant to federal contracts.”

Court: U.S. Department of Labor Office of Administrative Law Judges