Big construction subcontractor sued over wages
By JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press Writer

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

(09-23) 15:26 PDT LOS ANGELES, (AP) --

A group of construction workers from California, Arizona and Nevada filed a lawsuit accusing one of the nation's largest home-building subcontractors of failing to pay proper wages, the laborers' lawyer announced Tuesday.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, said Building Materials Holding Corp. and several subsidiaries including San Francisco-based SelectBuild Construction Inc. withheld overtime and other wage payments.

"The pressures in the industry have been experienced by these workers who are not getting paid for the wages they have earned," attorney Glenn Rothner said at a press conference.

Rothner said the 14 plaintiffs named in the lawsuit, which seeks an unknown amount of back wages and other damages, were asking a judge to give the lawsuit class-action status.

Workers first made the allegations to the Laborers' International Union of North America, which was seeking to organize SelectBuild's workers, Rothner said.

Building Materials Holding Corp., based in San Francisco, said in a statement that its companies comply with federal and state wage laws and that the lawsuit was without merit.

"This appears to be part of an ongoing union campaign to force the company to recognize it as the bargaining agent for employees," the statement said.

The lawsuit accuses the companies of violating state and federal law by not paying laborers higher rates for overtime work and by withholding payment for time spent in transit between job sites. Company officials also forced workers to hand in time sheets that understated the hours they had worked.

Pablo Nunez, 37, who served as a carpenter for a SelectBuild affiliate for about three years, said he regularly worked 10 hours of overtime each week but was paid for only five hours.

"They did that for years and years," Nunez said through an interpreter at the press conference, adding that his complaints to supervisors about his underpayment were ignored and that he was ultimately laid off. "We're here today because we want to be paid what is owed to us."

If the judge grants class-action status, further plaintiffs would be uncovered over the course of the lawsuit and could involve thousands of workers, Rothner said.

Building Materials Holding Corp. describes itself on its Web site as "one of the largest providers of building materials and residential construction services in the United States." The company reported $2.3 billion in sales in 2007.