Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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OAKTON, Va. -- Vance Uniformed Protection Services Inc. has agreed to pay $65,647 in back wages to 100 employees, after a U.S. Labor Department investigation revealed violations of the McNamara –O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA).

Vance Uniformed Protection Services Inc., a subsidiary of Vance International Inc. of Oakton, VA, provided security guard services to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, DC.

The investigation was conducted by the Wage and Hour Division’s Baltimore District Office. Vance Uniformed Protection Services Inc. was in violation of the SCA for failure to pay security officers for the first 15 minutes they were required to report to work prior to the start of their scheduled shift. CWHSSA overtime violations resulted from combining paid and unpaid hours worked.

According to Bezarah Gaither, Wage and Hour District Director in Baltimore, violations were the result of the firm moving from a paid 30 minute meal break to a paid 15 minute break. With the change, there was no longer an allowance for the unpaid 15 minutes at the start of the shift.

The SCA requires contractors and subcontractors performing services contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality, or the rates contained in a predecessor contractor’s collective bargaining agreement.

The CWHSSA applies to federal service contracts and federally-assisted construction contracts over $100,000, and requires contractors and subcontractors on covered contracts to pay laborers and mechanics employed in the performance of the contracts one and one-half times their basic rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

For more information about the SCA and CWHSSA, call the Department’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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