In another rebuke to the construction industry, the Labor Commissioner has cited RDV Construction, a Los Angeles County subcontractor, $12 million for wage theft violations involving more than a thousand workers. The Carpenters Contractors Cooperation Committee, a non-profit labor-management organization, assisted in bringing those violations to light.

RDV provided crews on 35 mixed-use, apartment, and hotel projects around the county, but over 21 months, paid workers with checks that did not clear the bank, and then failed to make good on all wages owed the workers, withholding of 10-25 percent of the wages owed. The crews typically also worked nine hours without correct rest breaks or payment of overtime premiums.

The nearly $12 million in citations included:

• Minimum wage violations of $1,623,020, plus liquidated damages of $1,692,430
• Overtime violations of $55,897
• Missed rest break premiums of $1,769,782
• Improper wage statement penalties of $882,981
• Waiting time penalties of $5,407,944

Each of these violations affected from 844 to 1,125 workers.

Labor Commissioner Julie Su stated: “Dodging labor laws and stealing wages hurts workers and creates unfair conditions for law-abiding employers. After a hard day’s work, the last thing a construction worker should have to face is a paycheck that bounces. Stealing earned wages from workers’ pockets is illegal in California and this case shows that employers who steal from their workers will end up paying for it in the end.”

It is serious enough for the company to be cited $12 million.  But Labor Code sections 558 and 558.1 also permit persons working on behalf of an employer who violate the wage and hour laws to be cited personally for those violations. Pursuant to these laws, the CEO and two project managers are also personally liable under these citations.

It seems almost too obvious to say that employers must timely pay workers all wages they earn, including overtime, provide proper breaks, and provide wage stubs that contain all of the required information. See Correct Stubs Save Bucks

See also:

• Cautionary Tales Episode 15 – Drywall Company Plastered With Nearly $2 Million in Citations (August 2018)
• Cautionary Tales Episode 6 – Labor Commissioner’s Office Awards $3.5 Million Against Oakland Contractor

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

Helena Kobrin

February 22, 2019