Electrical Contractor Pays $221,853 in Back Wages, Benefits After Investigation Finds Violations at Savannah Harbor Expansion Project

SAVANNAH, GA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Vos Electric Inc. – an electrical contractor based in Green Bay, Wisconsin – has paid $221,853 in back wages and benefits to 32 employees for violating requirements of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA) and the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA). The violations occurred while the employees were working at the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project.

Investigators found the employer incorrectly classified electricians as laborers and, as a result, paid them at hourly and fringe benefit rates lower than those legally required for the work they performed.

“Employers performing work on federal contracts have an obligation to ensure they pay their employees the wages they have legally earned under all applicable laws,” said Acting Wage and Hour District Director Derrick Witherspoon, in Atlanta, Georgia. “We encourage all employers and employees to reach out to us for assistance in understanding their rights and responsibilities under the law.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracted CDM Constructors Inc. as the prime contractor for the project’s dissolved oxygen injection system. In turn, CDM Constructors Inc. subcontracted Vos Electric Inc. to perform electrical work on the system.

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 CWHSSA, DBRA, and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/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.