Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN ANTONIO -- Alamo City Laundry, doing business as Save Cleaners, in San Antonio, has paid $223,135 in back wages and fringe benefits to 136 current and former laundry and dry cleaning 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 McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA).

“Alamo City Laundry failed to pay proper wages as required by the service contract,” said Cynthia Watson, the Wage and Hour Division’s regional administrator for the Southwest. “In this case, employees were not paid correctly for holiday pay and earned vacation as per SCA requirements.”

An investigation covering the period from Dec. 19, 2005, to June 10, 2007, determined that the company did not pay some employees the prevailing wage for all hours worked and paid other employees an incorrect overtime rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

The SCA covers contracts entered into by federal agencies where the principal purpose of the contract is to furnish services in the United States through the use of “service employees.” The law requires that every federal service contract in excess of $2,500 contain a wage determination setting forth wages and fringe benefits prevailing in the locality or contained in the collective bargaining agreement of the predecessor contractor. The CWHSSA requires payment of time and one-half the basic rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

Alamo City Laundry, which provides dry cleaning, laundry services and clothing alterations to Lackland Air Force Base and Randolph Air Force Base, cooperated with the investigation and has agreed to future SCA compliance. All back wages have been paid in full.

The Wage and Hour Division concluded 30,467 compliance actions and recovered a record $220 million in back wages for more than 341,000 employees in fiscal year 2007. Back-wage collections in fiscal year 2007 represent a 67 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal year 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 58 percent since fiscal year 2001.

For more information about the SCA and CWHSSA and other federal prevailing wage laws, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the Wage and Hour Division’s district office in San Antonio at 210-308-4515. 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.