Light rail contractor fined more than $800K for unpaid wages and penalties
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) announced Thursday it is fining the Penhall Co. more than $800,000 for unpaid wages and penalties.
Penhall, a concrete services company working on the Sound Transit East Link extension, filed falsified payroll reports and did not pay the correct wages and overtime for 37 workers, according to L&I. The department said workers were incorrectly classified as laborers and paid $38.57 per hour, instead of their correct jobs as surveyors, which should have paid them $58.69 per hour.
“Workers should be paid what they’ve earned, and in this case the company didn’t pay the correct wage for the work these employees were doing,” Jim Christensen, L&I’s prevailing wage program manager, said in a statement.
Penhall, a Texas-based company that has an office in Tukwila, is appealing the notice. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2021/03/26/light-rail-contractor-fined-more-than-800k.html
