By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The U.S. Department of Labor has debarred a federal subcontractor on Guam from seeking federally funded contracts after the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer shortchanged 29 construction workers at Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz in Dededo and gave investigators falsified records.
The department has recovered $106,000 in back wages for the workers after investigators found that Danes Construction Corp. in Yigo violated federal regulations governing the employment of workers on projects supported by federal funds.
Specifically, the division found the employer did the following:
Paid ironworkers less than their required prevailing minimum wage rate of $14.84 per hour.
Failed to pay temporary, non-immigrant workers from the Philippines for all hours worked.
Did not record hours worked or wages paid correctly.
Paid workers straight-time rates for overtime hours over 40 in a workweek.
Willfully submitted false payroll records, knowing they masked their recordkeeping violations and failure to pay required wages.
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The division determined Danes Construction violated the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as regulations of the H-2B temporary worker program.
The investigation led to the recovery of $106,446 in unpaid wages, including $10,549 in damages, for the 29 affected workers
“Our investigation found Danes Construction Corp. deliberately shortchanged people employed to fulfill federally funded contracts, including temporary H-2B workers who traveled from their homes in the Philippines,” said Terence Trotter, district director of Wage and Hour Division.
“Employers who wrongly believe they can profit on the backs of hard-working people will likely find themselves liable for back wages, damages and penalties and possibly debarred from bidding on federally supported projects," he added.
A 2015 division investigation found Danes Construction violated federal regulations by paying employees straight-time rates for overtime hours worked. The division recovered $8,193 in back wages for 17 affected workers in that case.
The employer’s repeated and willful violations of federal regulations led the department to assess the contractor with $6,750 in civil money penalties and exclude them from submitting bids for federally funded projects for three years.
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