US Department of Labor investigation finds three Florida mail-hauling contractors in violation of federal contract requirements

ORLANDO, FL – Private mail carriers provide useful support in mail delivery across the nation, and those who work for these federal contractors are expected to meet schedules, and follow specific standards. When three Florida-based contractors failed to deliver all of the workers’ hard-earned wages, the U.S. Department of Labor responded on the workers’ behalf.

Following its investigations, the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that three mail haulers in northern and central Florida – Mercado Santiago Inc. in Middleburg, Copa Post Services LLC in Gainesville and M&M Superior Contracting LLC in Orlando – owed a total of $293,779 to 34 employees. All three employers violated requirements of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act.

The division found Mercado Santiago failed to pay workers for all the hours that they worked, resulting in the contractor paying less than the prevailing wage rates required. In addition, the division found the employer failed to pay required health and welfare benefits for employees and failed to keep accurate time and payroll records. As a result, Mercado Santiago has paid $219,166 in back wages to 16 employees.

Investigators determined Copa Post Services LLC also failed to pay required health and welfare benefits to workers. The employer has paid $25,848 in back wages to 10 employees.

The division found M&M Superior Contracting LLC failed to pay required prevailing wage rates. The employer also failed to pay required health and welfare benefits and holiday pay to workers, and failed to allow employees to accrue vacation time or vacation pay. The employer owes $48,765 in back wages to eight employees.

“Prevailing wage laws provide a safety net for fair wages and benefits to workers on contracts providing services to the federal government. Enforcement of these laws protects the wages of hard-working, middle-class American workers,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “The Wage and Hour Division will remain vigilant in its work to ensure employees are paid in compliance with these laws, and that employers compete on a level playing field.”

In April 2013, the U.S. Postal Service awarded Mercado Santiago a contract to provide mail-hauling services in Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties. The contract expires in September 2022. Copa Post Services hires employees to work at USPS locations delivering mail on SCA contracts in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. M&M Superior Contracting holds three separate SCA contracts to deliver mail for the USPS in Orlando.

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