Nearly 100 workers awarded back wages connected to affordable housing development in DC

WASHINGTON — Workers in D.C., Maryland and Virginia will finally be paid wages owed to them for their labor involved with the construction of an affordable housing development funded by the District. 

According to a release from the U.S. Department of Labor, three offices investigating six subcontractors hired to work on The Bridge project in Southeast D.C. The subcontractors were hired by the development’s general contractor, McCullough Construction and its first-tier subcontractors. 

Officials say the employers violated the Davis-Bacon Act, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

U.S. Department of Labor investigators found nearly $300,000 in back wages owed to 14 employees of MTZ Electric Service LLC of Laurel, Maryland. 

"The subcontractor misclassified workers as independent contractors, failed to pay prevailing wage rates and the required overtime premium, failed to provide health and welfare fringe benefits, and violated recordkeeping requirements when it omitted workers from certified payroll records and falsified certified payroll records," the Department of Labor release reads. 

The first-tier subcontractor that hired MTZ Electric, Colonial Electric Company Inc. of Harwood, Maryland, has agreed to pay the back wages. 

MTZ's owner, Victor Martinez, signed a consent agreement to accept debarment, which prohibits the employer from bidding on federally funded construction projects for a period of three years.

Additionally, more than $250,000 back wages were recovered for seven employees of another Maryland construction company, Igloo Construction Inc. in Westminster. 

"Investigators found the employer failed to pay proper prevailing wages and fringe benefits, falsified certified payroll records, and hired a labor broker who failed to report its workers on weekly certified payroll records," the release reads. 

The first-tier contractor, Titan Mechanical Inc. of Manassas Park, Virginia, has been found liable for the back wages, after failing to require Davis-Bacon labor standards’ clauses in their subcontract with Igloo according to the Department of Labor. 

“Contractors must properly incorporate the applicable wage determination and the Davis-Bacon labor standards clauses directly into all lower-tier subcontract agreements when working on a federally funded construction project. We are here to assist contractors and subcontractors with questions about federal labor requirements and help ensure they comply with all applicable laws,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Mark Watson, in Philadelphia.

The U.S. Department of Labor named several other companies found to be in violation of the Davis-Bacon Act (DBRA), Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA):