US Department of Labor recovers $238K in wages for 26 skilled workers at US Navy installation whose employer incorrectly classified them

SEATTLE – Pipe fitters, electricians, forklift operators and carpenters working on two separate federally funded contracts on Naval Base Kitsap failed to receive the prevailing wages and benefits required for their occupations because their employer classified them incorrectly as lower-compensated general laborers.

A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found Nova Group failed to pay 26 employees required prevailing wages and health and welfare benefits in those occupations while employed on two federally funded contracts in Bremerton and Bangor.

The investigation led to the recovery of $238,511 in back wages and fringe benefits for the workers, and resolution of Nova Group’s violations of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards. In 2018, the division found NOVA Group committed similar DBRA violations and, in 2015, the division cited the employer for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Our investigation found this employer shorting the hard-earned wages of these skilled workers,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Thomas Silva in Seattle. “The U.S. Department of Labor will enforce prevailing wage requirements on federal contracts to ensure workers are fairly compensated as the law requires and to prevent contractors from gaining an unfair advantage over employers who abide by the law.”

With more than 200 employees worldwide, the Nova Group has received more than $2 billion in federal contracts. It is a subsidiary of Quanta Services Inc., a publicly traded Houston-based specialized contracting services company operating in utility, communications, pipeline and energy industries throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia and other international markets.

For more information about the laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

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