Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Grayeagle Construction has paid $350,000 in back wages to 268 laborers and carpenters who, under a Bureau of Indian Affairs contract, performed framing work on staff housing at a comprehensive care facility located on a Navajo reservation in Ft. Defiance, Ariz. The construction contractor is based in Centennial Park, a suburb of Colorado City, Ariz.

Investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Grayeagle Construction did not pay prevailing wage rates and overtime pay to the workers as required by the Davis Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA). The company also falsified payrolls and failed to keep accurate records of hours worked.

Grayeagle Construction has paid $245,000 in prevailing wages and $105,000 in overtime pay.

“The Department of Labor is committed to the strong enforcement of labor laws,” said George Friday Jr., regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in San Francisco. “In this case the employees were not properly compensated for their hours worked, and I am pleased we were able to recover back wages for them.”

Workers covered by the DBRA must be paid at least the prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits for corresponding classes of laborers employed on similar projects in the area. Workers covered by the CWHSSA overtime provisions must be paid not less than one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $170 million in back wages for more than 246,000 workers and assessed nearly $7.9 million in civil money penalties in federal fiscal year 2006.

For additional information about the DBRA, CWHSSA and other laws the Wage and Hour Division enforces, call the Wage and Hour Division office in Phoenix at (602) 514-7120 or the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1 (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.