Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Chavez Lathe & Plaster Inc. in Albuquerque has agreed to pay $108,456 in back wages to 421 current and former construction employees after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the employees had not been properly paid as required by the Davis Bacon and Related Acts provisions (DBRA), the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“All employees are entitled to be paid the wages they have rightfully earned,” said Cynthia Watson, the Wage and Hour Division’s southwestern regional administrator. “This employer initially failed to pay workers the correct contract wage and then failed to pay them for all hours worked as required by the law.”

The investigation, which covered the two-year period from Oct. 22, 2004, to Oct. 20, 2006, determined that the company failed to pay the prevailing wages and the appropriate overtime wages. Additionally two minors were employed in violation of the FLSA’s youth employment provisions. The minors, one of whom was found driving under age and the other found working on a roof, were employed in occupations determined to be hazardous by the secretary of labor.

The company, a plaster subcontractor working on Kirkland Air Force Base, has agreed to future compliance of the wage laws and also to have the back wages paid in full by May 4, 2008.

Under the DBRA, contractors and subcontractors performing on contracts in excess of $2,000 must pay workers no less than the wages and fringe benefits prevailing in a locality. The CWHSSA requires payment of time and one-half the basic rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The FLSA prohibits the employment of individuals under age 18 in any non-agricultural occupations that the Labor Department has declared hazardous. There are currently 17 hazardous occupation orders, including roofing and most driving jobs.

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 2001.

For more information about the DBRA, CWHSSA, FLSA, or other laws the Wage and Hour Division administers, call the U.S. Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the Wage and Hour Division district office in Albuquerque, at (505) 245-2142. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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