Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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AUSTIN, Texas -- Relief Enterprises Inc. in Austin has paid $207,907 in back wages to 50 current and former janitorial workers after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the employees had not been properly paid as required by the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA).

An investigation by the Wage and Hour Division’s San Antonio District Office covering the period between June 1, 2004, and July 31, 2005, determined that Relief Enterprises paid its employees their required salary but did not pay required fringe benefits.

“All employees are entitled to be paid the wages they have rightfully earned,” said Cynthia Watson, Wage and Hour regional administrator in Dallas. “The employer failed to pay the employees welfare and pension benefits required by their contract.”

Relief Enterprises contracts with Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio to provide general janitorial services through a subcontract with NISH, which creates employment opportunities for individuals with severe disabilities.

Contractors must ensure that their subcontractors are fully informed of requirements under federal government contract labor laws. Under the SCA, contractors and subcontractors performing on federal services contracts in excess of $2,500 must pay their service workers no less than the wages and fringe benefits prevailing in the locality. Contractors who fail to properly compensate their workers are subject to federal clauses that allow the government to withhold contract payments until all workers are paid the prevailing wages and fringe benefits.

The company already has paid the back wages in full and has agreed to continued compliance of the law.

The Wage and Hour Division concluded 31,987 compliance actions and recovered more than $171 million in back wages for more than 246,000 employees in fiscal year 2006. Back-wage collections last year represent a 30 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal year 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 14 percent since fiscal year 2001.

For more information about the SCA and other federal prevailing wage laws, call the U.S. Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the Wage and Hour Division’s San Antonio District Office at (210) 308-4515. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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