Contractor For School District Agrees To Pay Prevailing Wage Penalties
California Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su announced a settlement requiring prime contractor Tadros & Youssef Construction in the Arcadia Unified School District to pay $877,876.64 in back wages to ten workers and penalties for failure to pay prevailing wage, overtime wages, and for related labor violations.
The Labor Commissioner launched its investigation when a worker filed a complaint against the contractor alleging failure to pay any wages for work performed on the project at Highland Oaks Elementary School in Arcadia in 2009 and 2010. The worker installed all stainless steel and wood doors throughout the school, and was promised to be paid by piece rate—work that is paid according to the number of units completed. The amount paid to the worker via this piece rate system did not amount to the prevailing wage, which constitutes the minimum wage on a public works job.
Ms. Su pointed out that “piece rate payment should never be used as an end-run around minimum wage and prevailing wage laws,” since “workers are entitled to at least the hourly floor for every hour worked.” This case highlights the need for strong enforcement of California's prevailing wage laws to ensure employers do not avoid their obligations to public workers.
Author: Russell Naymark
