Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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ALMA, Ark. -- Kilowatt Electric Inc. has paid $99,139 in back wages to 26 electricians after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found that the company violated the Davis-Bacon Act and Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act by underpaying workers.

“The Department of Labor is committed to vigorously enforcing the law to ensure that all workers are paid full wages and any overtime they are entitled to receive,” said Cynthia Watson, Wage and Hour southwestern regional administrator.

Two concurrent investigations conducted by the Wage and Hour district office in Little Rock determined that sub-contractor Kilowatt Electric Inc. contracted with the U.S. Army and the Air National Guard to perform electrical work at Ft. Chafee, Ark., and misclassified electrical workers under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. As a result, the subcontractor was in violation of the prevailing wage provisions of the Act and the overtime provisions of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act.

Kilowatt Electric has paid all back wages due.

Davis-Bacon applies to federally-funded and certain federally-assisted construction contracts in the United States. The act requires that every covered construction contract in excess of $2,000 contain a wage determination reflecting wages and fringe benefits prevailing in the locality and that contractors pay laborers and mechanics no less than that prevailing wage rate. The Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act requires payment of overtime at one-and one-half the hourly wage rate to laborers and mechanics employed on covered contracts.

For more information about these laws or others enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, call the Little Rock district office at (501) 223-9114 or the Department of Labor’s toll free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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