Construction Injury News

Oakhurst, New Jersey, Construction Contractor, Subcontractors Barred From Federal Contracts For Violating Prevailing-Wage Laws: 60 Workers Getting $192,924 Back Wages

Some 60 workers who were underpaid in violation of federal prevailing-wage laws while doing construction work at the VA Medical Center in Lyons, New Jersey, will receive nearly $193,000 in back wages from ten New Jersey contractors.

In addition, the prime contractor and six of the subcontractors have been debarred from future government contracts for three years.

The actions result from an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division into alleged violations of the Davis-Bacon Act by Sharp Construction Co., Inc., Oakhurst, New Jersey; its president, Angelo M. Gregos, and nine subcontractors engaged in the rehabilitation of Building 53 at the VA Medical Center from 1991 to 1994.

According to Dominick Denato, district director of the Wage and Hour Division's Southern New Jersey district office, the Davis-Bacon Act, passed in 1931, requires wages on federally funded construction projects to be based on wages paid for similar work in the same geographic area.

Workers whose trades required payment of prevailing wages on the rehabilitation project included carpenters, laborers, masons, plumbers, and roofers. Officially established prevailing wages and fringe benefits for these occupations in the locality ranged from $17.27 per hour for roofers to $28.60 for masons, but investigators found that workers were actually being paid between $11.00 and $16.75.

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	Did You Know?
	Construction accident injuries may be covered by workers compensation. Most are. The workers' compensation system is designed to provide benefits to injured workers no matter whether an injury is caused by the employers or employee's negligence. But there are some limits. Generally, injuries caused because an employee is intoxicated or using illegal drugs are not covered by workers' compensation.