U.S. Department of Labor Recovers Nearly $200,000 for Mail Haulers After Investigation Finds Company Violated Federal Labor Laws

ORANGE, CA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), C&W Trucking Inc. – a contractor for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) based in Orange, California – will pay $199,010 to 56 employees for violations of federal contract requirements of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined that C&W Trucking Inc. owed employees $199,010 in unpaid prevailing wages and required health and welfare benefits. Investigators found the contractor, which hauls mail under a USPS contract, failed to pay drivers for time they spent working before and after their shifts, performing tasks such as vehicle inspections, driving to and from the post office and fueling company vehicles. The employer also violated FLSA's recordkeeping requirements by failing to record accurately the time employees actually worked.

Investigators found the employer also failed to pay employees required fringe benefits after incorrectly classifying and paying several drivers as independent contractors.

"No contractor should gain an economic advantage by paying employees below the wages and fringe benefits required when doing business with the federal government," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Rodolfo Cortez, in San Diego, California. "We urge contractors to call the U.S. Department of Labor for assistance, and to use the tools we provide to help them comply with the law."

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.

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

For more information about the SCA, and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).  Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.