US Department of Labor recovers $224K in back wages from two contractors for 37 electricians denied full wages on federally funded project

ORLANDO, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $224,113 in lost wages and benefits for 37 Florida workers after finding two employers failed to pay fringe benefits and prevailing and overtime wages to employees working on a new Veterans Affairs multi-specialty outpatient clinic in Daytona Beach.

The recovery follows investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found violations of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act for work being performed on a federally funded project. 

Specifically, investigators found M.C.A. Communications Inc. failed to pay electricians their fringe benefits and the full prevailing wage for all hours worked. The Houston-based employer also used a rate lower than the prevailing wage rate to compute overtime, allowing them to pay overtime rates lower than required by law. M.C.A. Communications also failed to track accrued, paid sick leave. The division’s investigation recovered $42,729 for eight workers. 

A second employer, EBP Electric Services Corp. in Plant City did not pay electricians fringe benefits and prevailing wages for all hours worked and failed to track and pay sick leave hours. The division recovered $181,384 from EBP for 29 workers to resolve the employer’s violations. 

“Government contractors must ensure their workers are paid the required wages and fringe benefits they have earned on federally funded construction projects,” explained Wage and Hour Division Deputy Regional Administrator Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “Employers and workers can contact our office to learn about their obligations and rights under the law or attend any of our upcoming online compliance seminars. These violations are avoidable.”

The U.S. Department of Labor offers online compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors,  workers and other stakeholders to provide information on recent updates to regulations governing employment practices for federally funded contracts. 

Founded in 1983, M.C.A. Communications Inc. is a telecommunications contractor servicing commercial construction projects. The Plant City-based EBP Electric Services Corp. was incorporated in 2021.

The Wage and Hour Division offers numerous resources for employers and workers alike, including information about the DBRA, the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) and webinars that take place throughout the year. Workers and employers can call the division confidentially with questions, regardless of where they are from, and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. 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.

Download the agency’s new, free Timesheet App for Android and iOS devices, available in English and Spanish, to help track work hours and pay.