Lubbock, Texas Concrete Company Pays $43,216 in Back Wages To Employees Following U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

LUBBOCK, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), M & US Concrete Inc. – based in Lubbock, Texas – has paid $43,216 in back wages to nine employees for violating the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA).

The WHD investigation determined that the employer failed to pay required prevailing wages after it wrongly classified employees subcontracted to work as carpenters at a Veterans Affairs outpatient facility in Lubbock, Texas, as laborers. Required prevailing wages for carpenters total more than $29.00 per hour, while the laborer rate is $18.00 per hour. The employer also failed to pay overtime as required by CWHSSA and failed to maintain sick leave records mandated by Executive Order 13706.

“All contractors and sub-contractors must ensure they are thoroughly aware of and abide by all requirements associated with performing work on federally funded projects,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Evelyn Sanchez in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “Failing to pay employees the wages they have rightfully earned under federal law shorts the workers and undercuts other employers competing for federal contracts. We encourage all employers to contact us for guidance to avoid violations and ensure employees receive the wages they have earned.”

The DBRA requires contractors and subcontractors performing work on federal and certain federally funded projects to pay employees prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits as determined by the U.S. Secretary of Labor and as included in their contracts.

For more information about the DBRA, CWHSSA 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.

The mission of WHD 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 paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, 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.