Oct. 2, 2014 L&I settles $200,000 claim against Whatcom County Jail contractor BELLINGHAM — A contractor renovating the Whatcom County Jail has paid nearly $200,000 in back wages owed to 13 workers on the project. Sierra Detention Systems, of Brighton, Colo., paid the money following a Washington State Department of Labor & Industries investigation, which was spurred by a January worker complaint. The company paid lower apprenticeship wages to electricians. “We don’t know whether the company’s intent was to avoid paying the higher journeyman wage,” said Jim Christensen, Prevailing Wage Program manager for the agency, who noted this was a first-time offense for the firm. “In this case, the employees were doing the work of electricians and were not part of any state-registered apprenticeship program.” In September 2011 the Whatcom County Council approved a $2 million contract with the company. The firm was hired to update the electrical and detention systems at the jail and county facilities. As a result of the L&I investigation, the company paid a total of $196,214.40 to L&I for the wages in late August. The workers will receive varying amounts depending on the total of their unpaid wages. Three of the employees will be paid $30,879, $67,286, and $71,660 each for their work. “Our goal is to help honest workers and businesses by ensuring companies follow the law,” Christensen said. “We want to make sure employers avoid this sort of misclassification and simply pay workers what they’re owed for the work they do.” Enacted in 1945, the state’s prevailing wage act protects workers employed on contracts from government agencies against substandard earnings and to preserve local wage standards. The law is modeled on the federal Davis-Bacon Act. The prevailing wage, determined for specific jobs in counties across the state, covers taxpayer-funded projects public agencies initiate. ### For media information: Matthew Erlich, L&I Public Affairs, 360-902-6508, [email protected] Connect with L&I: Facebook (facebook/laborandindustries) and Twitter (twitter/lniwa)
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 22:47:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015