The Hartford District Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has launched an enforcement initiative to identify and eliminate wage and hour violations by employers at Rhode Island and Connecticut construction projects through increased compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.  “Due to the competitive nature of the construction industry, some contractors and subcontractors cut corners with respect to wages, hours and employment conditions,” said Neil Patrick, the Wage and Hour Division’s district director in Hartford. “The Wage and Hour Division is developing new strategies to better identify and remedy widespread labor violations so workers are protected against exploitation and law-abiding employers are not placed at a competitive disadvantage when they play by the rules and pay fair wages.”

The initiative will involve investigations of general contractors and subcontractors working on large construction projects in order to identify patterns of minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping violations. The Wage and Hour Division will pursue corrective action, including payment of back wages, civil money penalties and liquidated damages.

The department is also seeking to map the employment relationships among the layers of contractors to better target its enforcement efforts and have a broad-based, top-down effect on the industry. Between 2000 and 2010, the Wage and Hour Division conducted nearly 300 investigations of construction industry employers in Rhode Island and Connecticut that resulted in the payment of $5.6 million in back wages to nearly 3,300 workers.  “These numbers show that we need to change industry behavior across the board, not simply on an employer-by-employer basis,” said Patrick. “Paying workers the proper wages is the employer’s responsibility. We particularly want to encourage general contractors to require and ensure FLSA compliance by all of their subcontractors. Workers deserve no less.” (click on link to read full story)