News Release
US Department of Labor recovers $101K in benefits, wages, damages for 51 workers employed on two federally funded projects in California
SAN DIEGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $101,287 from two contractors who failed to provide fringe benefits or pay prevailing wages to 51 employees working on federally funded construction projects in Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Diego and in San Joaquin county.
The recovery follows investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division into violations of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act.
An investigation of Pacific Tugboat Service, a subsidiary of Pacific Maritime Group Inc. based in San Diego, recovered $71,367 owed in prevailing wages, fringe benefits and lodging costs to 23 employees working on the San Joaquin River and Port of Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel project. The division also found the employer, contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, failed to pay overtime wages to the affected workers in compliance with the CWHSSA. The division also recovered $1,624 in damages.
A separate review of the pay practices of Bulwark Construction Inc., operating as Residential Wall Systems in Corona, found the prime contractor for a 78-unit affordable housing development did not provide $28,296 in fringe benefits to 28 employees on a San Diego Housing Commission project funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“Employers contracted for federally funded projects must comply with all federal requirements for payment of wages and benefits,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Min Park-Chung in San Diego. “To their credit, both employers acted quickly to compensate these workers and assured us of future compliance.”
Pacific Maritime Group Inc. and its subsidiaries operate in proximity to several U.S. Naval installations, shipyards and the Port of San Diego and undertakes coastal and ocean towing and dredging and other offshore projects.
Bulwark Construction Inc. is a commercial and residential provider of drywall and plastering services in southern California, and plastering and masonry services in northern California.
Learn more about the DBRA, the CWHSSA and other laws enforced by the division, as well as a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, now available for Android and iOS devices in English and Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.
