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Feds Side with Contract Workers on Wage Theft
For more than three years, federal government contract workers at some of Washington’s most recognizable landmarks have complained they were being stiffed by employers who engaged in misclassification and wage theft. And yesterday, the U.S. Labor Department agreed.
The agency announced that hundreds of workers who prepare and serve meals for members of Congress and their staffs in U.S. Senate cafeterias will receive more than $1 million in back wages after authorities found contractors didn’t pay the required prevailing wage standard.
Two employers, Restaurant Associates and its subcontractor Personnel Plus, must reimburse 674 workers for paying them for lower-paying jobs than they actually performed, as well as for requiring them to work prior to their scheduled start times without compensation.
“Employers given the opportunity to earn a profit by providing a service to the government at a cost to the tax payer have a legal obligation to follow the letter of the law, especially when it comes to paying their workers,” said David Weil, administrator of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division.
The division added that it will review the finding to determine whether the employers should be barred from obtaining federal contracts in the future.
DOL’s ruling validated earlier reports of such activity. Stephen Ayers, Architect of the Capitol who oversees the workers, told lawmakers during a Senate subcommittee hearing in March that government contractors shortchanged many of them even after officially raising wages last year. That came after The Washington Post reported earlier this year than one worker had gone from being a cook to a food service worker, a change that resulted in his hour wage dropping from $17.45 to $13.80.
Unfortunately, wage theft and misclassification are not uncommon in today’s workplace. But workers should be able to expect more from companies who are serving the government. The Teamsters, who have been part of the Good Jobs Nation movement, are pleased to see action being taken.
But it can’t stop now.