Labor Department finds Capitol Hill cafeteria workers illegally denied more than $1M in wages [View all]

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Source: Department of Labor

News Release

US Labor Department investigation finds Capitol Hill cafeteria workers illegally denied more than $1M in wages by federal food service contractors

Employers contracted by Architect of the Capitol violated federal prevailing wage law

WASHINGTON – Hundreds of workers who prepare and serve meals for Capitol Hill lawmakers and their staffs in the U.S. Senate cafeterias will receive more than $1 million in back wages after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found their employers failed to pay prevailing wages required of federal contractors.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division announced today that Restaurant Associates and its subcontractor, Personnel Plus, will pay 674 workers $1,008,302 in back wages. The division found the two employers violated the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act when they improperly classified workers – paying them for lower-paying jobs than they actually performed – and required employees to work prior to their scheduled starting times without compensation. Paying below the required rates also caused the companies to fail to pay the workers overtime at the proper rates.

“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 the department’s Wage and Hour Division Administrator David Weil. “Workers in the restaurant industry are among the lowest-paid workers in our economy. Most struggle to afford life’s basic expenses and pay their bills; they shouldn’t have to deal with paychecks that don’t accurately reflect their hard work and the wages to which they are legally entitled.”

The agency also determined the employers failed to pay required health and welfare benefits and violated the SCA’s recordkeeping requirements.
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For more information about federal wage laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.

WHD News Release:

07/26/2016

Media Contact Name: Joanna Hawkins
Email: [e-mail]
Phone Number: [phone]

Media Contact Name: Leni Uddyback-Fortson
Email: [e-mail]
Phone Number: [phone]

Release Number: 16-1552-PHI

Read more: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20160726

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Hat tip, WTOP