Federal Contractor Pays $130,619 in Back Wages After Investigation By U.S. Department of Labor Finds Violations in Southern California

WEST COVINA, CA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Technica LLC will pay $130,619 in back wages and fringe benefits to 43 employees. Investigators found the contractor failed to pay required prevailing wages to warehouse employees on their contract for work at the Barstow Marines Corps Logistics Base in Barstow, California.

WHD investigators found that Technica LLC violated the Service Contract Act (SCA) and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA) in its payments to workers under a U.S. Department of Defense contract.

The employer erroneously categorized employees performing work in several positions on the contract, and paid them rates applicable to incorrect job categories. Technica classified Material Identifiers and Examiners, for example, as Customer Service Representatives, and paid them $15.12 per hour, rather than the required rate for the position of more than $20 per hour. The employer also paid workers below the required hourly rate for health and welfare benefits called for under the contract.  Paying incorrect hourly base rates resulted in additional violations when Technica computed and paid overtime based on rates below those required by law.

“Contractors must understand and abide by all of the requirements associated with performing work on contracts for the federal government,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Rafael Valles, in West Covina, California. “Our enforcement of prevailing wage laws levels the playing field for all contractors and protects the wages of workers. We encourage all employers to contact us for guidance to avoid violations like those found in this case and to ensure workers receive all the wages they have earned.”

Technica LLC, based in Charleston, South Carolina, provides warehouse facility operations, logistics and information technology support services to the Department of Defense and other federal agencies.

The McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act 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.

For more information about the SCA 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 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.

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