Guilty plea by contractor, nearly $800K in restitution to cheated workers

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NEW  YORK – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters announced on Friday, March 18, 2016, the guilty pleas of Sergio Raymundo, 28, and his New Paltz-based construction company Lalo Drywall, Inc. 

Both defendants pleaded guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court and must pay $793,509.60 in restitution and $83,143.76 in unpaid unemployment contributions due to the New York State Department of Labor, Unemployment Insurance Division. 

Raymundo and Lalo Drywall, Inc. cheated eight workers at a Harlem housing project out of approximately $800,000.00 in wages during a 17-month period, and attempted to conceal the underpayments by signing false checks drawn on the company’s account indicating that employees on the job were paid properly under the law. However, those checks were never actually given to the workers.

“No matter how creative they become in their illegal schemes, dishonest contractors will be held accountable. This guilty plea demonstrates that my office will continue to take aggressive action against public works contractors who cheat their employees out of proper wages and who abuse taxpayer money” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Workers must be paid for their labor, and my office is committed to ensuring that workers who are cheated out of wages are rightfully compensated.”

NYC Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters said, “The pleas by these defendants, and the restitution being awarded to workers who were cheated out of nearly $800,000 in rightful pay, demonstrates that wage theft at public works projects is a serious crime with consequences. DOI will continue to pursue and expose employers who attempt to steal workers hard-earned wages. I thank the Attorney General and our partner agencies for their efforts in uncovering and prosecuting these crimes.”

Sergio Raymundo pleaded guilty to one count of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree under New York State’s Penal Law, a class E felony, as well as to one count of Failure to Pay Wages under New York State’s Labor Law, an unclassified misdemeanor.

With his plea, Raymundo paid $350,000.00 to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). representing restitution and unpaid unemployment contributions by Lalo Drywall, Inc. At sentencing, under the plea agreement, Raymundo must pay another $210,000.00 representing an additional amount of restitution and unpaid unemployment contributions.  The remaining $318,150.56 in restitution and unpaid unemployment contributions will be paid during Raymundo’ post-conviction sentence.

Lalo Drywall, Inc. pleaded guilty to one count of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, and will be sentenced to a conditional discharge.  Under the plea agreements, both Raymundo and Lalo Drywall, Inc. are also barred from bidding on or being awarded any public works contracts in New York State for the next 5 years.

This plea stemmed from the April 2015 arrests of five subcontractors as part of an ongoing focus by Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters on widespread allegations of wage theft at public works projects in New York City. One of the subcontractors was Lalo Drywall, Inc., which was investigated for underpayment schemes that took place between April 10, 2013 and August 27, 2014 at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) Sugar Hill Houses, a mixed-use, commercial and low-income residential project in Harlem, which was subject to prevailing wage requirements.  Federal and state prevailing wage laws seek to ensure that government contractors pay wages and benefits that are comparable to the local norms for a given trade, typically well above the state and federal minimum wage.

The case was investigated by Deputy Inspector General David Jordan and Assistant Inspector General Ondie Frederick under the supervision of Inspector General Jessica Heegan. The Department of Investigation’s effort to combat prevailing wage violations was overseen by Senior Associate Commissioner Michael Carroll and Associate Commissioner William Jorgenson.

Source: Hudson Valley News Network

Bill would make state investigations into wage theft a public record

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COLORADO – A Rocky Mountain PBS News investigation has prompted proposed state legislation to improve transparency of information concerning employers’ wage violations.

House Bill 16-1347 would turn previously secret records on whether an employer had violated wage laws into public records. That means that the public would have access to such information as cases of employers who were found to have illegally withheld pay or underpaid their employees.

Rocky Mountain PBS News showed how some employers have made cheating workers a way of business and how state labor authorities and outdated laws have shielded the actions of bad actors from public view.

The existing 100-year-old law has been interpreted as requiring the investigative process to be kept secret, even when issues are resolved. Federal labor investigations, meanwhile, have an easily accessible mobile app.

House Bill 16-1347 makes one caveat: the state Department of Labor and Employment is prohibited from releasing trade secrets, which are deemed confidential. When someone requests information on wage violations, the bill mandates that the department must notify the employer, who then has ten days to respond with further information to show if a trade secret is at issue.

You can read the full text of the proposed legislation here.

Source: Rocky Mountain PBS News

Senator Brown proposes anti-wage theft legislation

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CINCINNATI, OH – In the wake of Cincinnati becoming the first Ohio city to pass a wage theft ordinance, one of Ohio’s senators is trying to bring the momentum nationwide.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown introduced the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act Wednesday. The legislation would give workers the right to receive full compensation for all of the work they perform, as well as the right to receive regular paystubs and final paychecks in a timely manner.

It would also provide workers with tools to recover stolen wages and make assistance available to enhance the enforcement of and compliance with wage and hour laws.

The bill was co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

Wage theft occurs when employers refuse to pay workers money that they are owed by withholding pay, tips or overtime.

“When bosses don’t pay their workers what they’re owed, it robs them of money they earned for their hard work and hurts businesses that play by the rules,” Brown said in a news release.

“We must create a system where employers who steal wages are held accountable and workers have the tools they need to recover their wages when they’ve been cheated.”

A 2009 study by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) of nearly 4,500 low-wage workers found that more than 60 percent had been shorted by their employer each week, equivalent to $2,634 per year in unpaid wages. Analysts applying this study to Cincinnati estimate that low-wage workers here lose $52 million per year to wage theft.

Low-wage and immigrant workers are victims of wage theft when they are paid less than the minimum wage, are shorted hours, forced to work off the clock, are not paid overtime or not paid at all. These are pervasive practices across many industries.

Despite complaints about wage theft, Ohio has cut the number of state wage investigators from 15 to five since 2008.  The closest investigator to Hamilton County is located in Dayton, Ohio.

In early February, Cincinnati became the first city in Ohio to pass an ordinance to improve enforcement of existing wage laws.

City Council voted 7-2 for the ordinance. Under the measure, if the city or another agency determines a company has committed wage theft, city officials would be able to have the money returned and the company would be barred from doing business with the city.

During a news conference call Wednesday, Brown was joined by Brennan Grayson, director of the Interfaith Workers Center in Cincinnati, who helped organize support for Cincinnati’s recently-passed wage theft ordinance.

“Sen. Brown’s bill is the type of change we need to begin making things right, to begin restoring dignity to wage earners,” Grayson said.

Under the Ohio Democrat’s proposal, workers would recoup the full compensation that employers have taken from them, create a civil penalty of $2,000 when employers violate minimum wage and overtime protections and  increase the time that employees have to bring a claim for owed wages.

The bill also would make it easier for employees to take collective action to recover their stolen wages and remove the current requirement that employees affirmatively “opt-in” to engage in a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Last November, Brown introduced legislation to take action against employers that misclassify their workers to cheat them out of wages, benefits, and important workplace protections – one of the practices that contributes to wage theft. He has also introduced bills to raise the minimum wage, expand paid sick leave to all workers and support workers’ right to bargain with employers.

Source: Cincinnati.com

ICRA in the news!

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The Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) program was recently featured on PortageLife.com for its efforts to keep hospitals safe and infection-free during construction and renovation.

Workers Endeavor to Keep Hospital Safe with ICRA Training
Written by Kyle Hovanec 

For those involved in construction or the upkeep of a hospital, taking the necessary steps to maintain a clean and safe environment during construction and maintenance projects is an essential precaution needed to keep people safe. Following these steps goes beyond simple exercises such as washing hands, it requires the knowledge and training taught by professionals to make sure each project is safe. ICRA involves methods and strategies taught by the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) to teach and prepare workers for working safely and efficiently in healthcare environments by teaching them methods designed to understand infection and contamination risks, specialized procedures, proper job site conduct and dress as well as proper communication.

Read the full article!

Do you want to ensure infection control best practices are used by construction workers in upcoming renovation or construction projects at your healthcare facility? Contact Brad Murphy at 317.605.1386 or bmurphy@ikorcc.com for a list of contractors in your area that use ICRA-trained staff.

Construction ICRA Best Practices is an innovative program that provides patient-focused training for Carpenters and other trades working in hospitals, medical facilities or other occupied spaces. This set of best practices helps prevent the spread of disease and infection during construction at healthcare facilities. ICRA instructors also offer training opportunities to healthcare facility staff.

Residential construction industry built on ‘payroll fraud’ model

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Jose Ramirez had never heard the term “wage theft,” but he knew he was being cheated when a roofing subcontractor refused to pay him.

“We finished a couple houses, roofing houses, and we tried to collect the money and the guy said, ‘I haven’t gotten paid by our boss,'” he recalls. “That was a big project. I mean, we were shingling one house, putting back shingles, moving to the next one, and eventually there was two of them where I did not get paid. I told the guy, ‘That’s it. I can’t keep working until you pay me those two houses.'”

“So they stop answering the phone, you start chasing them for the money, and then suddenly, they disappear . . . and there you go – you got two weeks without pay . . . So you have to figure out how you’re going to support your family.”

Today, Ramirez is one of the lucky ones. After seeing a billboard advertising the carpenters union, he called and signed up. He spent several years with a reputable contractor and just recently became an instructor in the training center operated by the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters.

Looking back, Ramirez realizes that not getting paid to roof two houses was just the tip of the iceberg. He was being cheated every day on the job, forced to work long hours without overtime pay. Often, he never got a paystub to track whether or not he was being paid for all the hours he worked.

Fortunately, he did not get injured on the job. Even though construction employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, untold numbers of injured workers have been fired, left to try to get medical help on their own.

“Back in the day, I didn’t know that you had those rights,” said Ramirez. “I have friends who still work the same way. Depending on the situation that they have, some people don’t think they have a choice but to work that way. People have to make a living.”

Tens of thousands of construction workers are victims of wage theft in Minnesota ever year, but no one knows the exact number. Some of the workers are undocumented and afraid to come forward. Many, regardless of their background or citizenship status, simply don’t know that they are being cheated.

Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry: An Evaluation of the Contractor Registration Pilot Project and the Misclassification of Workers in the Construction Industry

Read More

Source: Workday Minnesota

Tennessee contractors avoid workers’ comp to win bids

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The amount of growth in downtown Nashville requires a lot of labor, but not every worker is equally protected in case of injury.

The practice of winning low bids by avoiding workers’ compensation payments is called worker misclassification.

The Channel 4 I-Team has found the same thing uncovered nearly five years ago at the Music City Center is now happening right across the street.

WSMV Channel 4

In 2011, a drywall subcontractor with a large workforce was failing to deduct taxes of any kind or pay workers’ compensation or overtime.

Some contractors use worker misclassification to win competitive bids. They can undercut a rival by 20 percent or more by not paying into insurance pools.

“Everybody is hurt by employee misclassification, all of us,” said Scott Yarbrough with Workers Compensation Compliance. “If an employee is hurt, they don’t have a workers’ compensation policy to fall back on. The hospitals have to treat them as a charity case most of the time.”

When the I-Team investigated the Music City Center, the state had never audited a job site for compliance. They do now.

At an apartment complex in Bellevue, a subcontractor named Pablo Delgado was fined more than $87,000 for understating his payroll.

At another Bellevue complex, Aguilar Carpentry was caught misclassifying its workforce and was hit with almost $73,000 in fines.

Investigators also levied a $39,000 fine on a Vanderbilt dormitory project.

Government jobs aren’t immune. A Metro-funded project in north Nashville led to a $69,000 fine for a roofing subcontractor.

A worker at the new Westin Hotel across from the Music City Center spoke to the I-Team. He asked not to be identified.

“Yes, it’s very common. They’re still doing it,” the worker’s translator said.

The man showed us his paychecks with no tax deductions whatsoever. There was also no overtime pay, even though he works 50 hours a week.

The man said it’s done everywhere.

“He said that 95 percent of the jobs he has done, they don’t take taxes off the cash and they don’t pay time and a half overtime,” the translator said.

“It’s a huge risk for families,” Yarbrough said. “When an uninsured employee gets hurt, it starts an economic death spiral for them. They can’t pay their hospital bills. They lose their car, can’t get to work. They lose their job, lose your house.”

Many fines go unpaid. The offender has yet to pay a dime of the $87,000 fine mentioned early. Only $5,000 of the nearly $73,000 fine against Aguilar Carpentry has been collected. The subcontractor on the Vanderbilt dorm has paid less than half of what he owes. The roofer from the Metro-funded project has managed just $3,000 of the $69,000 he owes the state.

Offenders are given 24 months to pay.

“The main thing we want to see is people coming back into compliance,” Yarbrough said. “We don’t necessarily want to run them out of business. We want to give them an opportunity to pay over time.” The state just started cracking down on this in 2013.

Collections have increased from $85,000 statewide to $132,000 last year. As of Wednesday, there is still $325,000 owed by violators.

Experts said in the construction field alone, misclassification is shorting the state Medicare pool somewhere between $7 million and $42 million.

Source: WSMV News 4, Nashville, Tenn.

Manchester drywaller jailed for under-the-table payroll scheme

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MANCHESTER, N.H. – A city dry-wall contractor was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $780,000 for his role in an under-the-table payroll scheme.

Cruz E. Galvan, 39, who operated Four Star Drywall, was ordered to pay the IRS restitution totalling $786,553. Authorities said he had paid $100,000 of that amount several weeks before being sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

According to U.S. Attorney Emily Gray Rice, Galvan pleaded guilty to one count of federal employment tax evasion, admitting to a scheme to dodge payment of federal employment taxes on wages he paid to his employees.

During his plea hearing, Galvan admitted that from April 2010 until December 2012 he paid employees with vouchers instead of with checks. The employees were then instructed to present the vouchers to a local check-cashing business to which Galvan had previously provided funds with instructions to pay the vouchers in cash.

He acknowledged he did not report the wages he paid to the IRS, evading federal income tax withholding and Social Security, Medicare and federal unemployment taxes.

Immigration proceedings are underway to deport Galvan, who authorities say is in the country illegally, after he serves his sentence.

City police, the IRS, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Morse.

Source: Union Leader

Carpenters assemble Valentine’s Day care packages for US Military

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In preparation for the upcoming holiday, Local 200 of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) volunteered to assist in the assembly of Valentine’s Day care packages for military members.

Earlier this year, Brenda Bishop Young of Buckeye Military Families reached out to Local 200 regarding its third annual Operation Sharing Hearts project. The project focuses on assembling and sending 50 Valentine’s-themed care packages to service members who are deployed and stationed overseas.

In addition to presenting Buckeye Military Families with a $500 donation, five Local 200 members and their families were more than happy to assist with Operation Sharing Hearts and dedicated a Saturday and a total of 20 volunteer hours to the project. Assembled at the Local 200 office, eachcare package contained Valentine’s Day cards, candy, batteries, sports and auto magazines, toiletries and small Valentine’s Day cakes.

“I have to thank Local 200 for the use of their office – the facility was perfect for our event,” commented Bishop Young. “The help we received from their members was so awesome! They jumped in and made us feel right at home. I know this is a long-standing relationship we can look forward to in years to come.”

Michael Freeman, IKORCC Representative and Local 200 Recording Secretary and Political Advisor, commented, “We have four veterans in our Columbus office. Having served in the military, it makes me so proud to be involved with an organization that truly cares about our nation’s heroes – veterans and active duty alike. Being stationed away from family and friends can be very tough, and we know how much a small gesture like these care packages will be appreciated. They’re also a small token of our appreciation for everything our military does for our country.”

Buckeye Military Families is the Ohio chapter of Semper-Fi Sisters, which consists of individuals with a loved one who served or is currently serving in the military. Their mission is to support the families of those currently serving, the service member themselves and Ohio veterans.

Avoid the perp, walk: workers’ comp. premium fraud

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“[A]s more workers’ comp fraud cases start creeping into the headlines, authorities are cracking down on the illegal practice, and construction companies need to be aware of their legal duties to avoid the potential consequences of fraud.”

“There are a few basic types of employer workers’ comp fraud, with diverse variations stemming from those few types.

“One instance of fraud involves paying employees cash off the books so that the amount of payroll on which premiums are calculated is reduced, thereby reducing premiums.”

“Along those same lines are cases when employers intentionally misclassify employees as independent contractors.”

“Yet another common scheme is using shell companies, or companies set up for the sole purpose of paying employees without paying workers’ comp insurance and other benefits or taxes. This can be a company that the employer sets up himself or a third party who poses as a single-man operation with minimal insurance and minimal paperwork — just enough to avoid raising questions during an insurance premium audit.”

“Perhaps the strongest enforcement assets are contractors themselves.

‘”When you get burned on a job, and you didn’t get the award because somebody’s doing it for a price you know they can’t, (other employers) just turn them in,” [Mark] Sierra [construction insurance expert and consultant] said. “Then the state has people that go out on job sites and inspect them. So, yes, the competition definitely helps police it.”

[William] Canak [professor, Middle Tennessee State University]  added, “At a national level over the last decade, there’s been much greater recognition that there are a lot of people breaking the rules and that it negatively affects the proper functioning of the marketplace for employers and employees. It harms the community, it harms the workers and it harms law-abiding employers. So we’re seeing these initiatives roll out, and that’s good. It can’t all happen at once, but we’re making a lot of progress.”’

Construction Dive, January 26, 2016

Engels on Transition Team

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Jon Bel Edwards was elected Governor of Louisiana. He appointed Executive Secretary-Treasurer Jason Engels to his economic development transition team. The team will make recommendations on job training and workforce development. Recently, Jason appeared on New Orleans News 8 in a three-part series exposing payroll fraud in the Louisiana construction industry.