Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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EL PASO, Texas -- Night Eyes Protective Services Inc. in El Paso has agreed to pay $211,344 in back fringe benefits, hourly and overtime wages to 97 current and former security guards after an investigation by U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the employees had not been properly paid as required by the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA).

“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 proper fringe benefits, minimum and overtime wages as required by the service contract for non-exempt employees.”

An investigation by the Wage and Hour Division, covering the two-year period April 1, 2004 to April 1, 2006, determined that Night Eyes Protective Services paid its employees at straight time for all hours worked. Additionally, the employer failed to increase the prevailing wage for certain guard classifications, did not pay some employees for travel time and did not pay other employees the proper fringe benefits. The contracts were subject to the prevailing wage provisions of the SCA and the overtime requirement of the CWHSSA. Night Eyes contracts with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the National Park Service to provide security guards.

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. The CWHSSA requires the payment of time-and-one-half the basic rate of pay for all hours worked more than 40 in a workweek. Contractors must ensure that their subcontractors are fully informed of the requirements under federal government contract labor laws. Contractors who fail to properly compensate their workers are subject to federal withholding contract clauses that allow the government to withhold contract payments until all workers are paid the prevailing wages and fringe benefits.

The company has agreed to future compliance and is paying the back wages on installment. Back wages should be paid in full by April 2008.

The Wage and Hour Division concluded 31,987 compliance actions in fiscal year 2006 and recovered more than $171 million in back wages for more than 246,000 employees. 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 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 (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the Albuquerque Wage and Hour District Office at (505) 245-2142. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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