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Electrical Contractor Reaches $2.75 Million Settlement In D.C. Wage Theft Lawsuit
JAN 16, 1:44 PM
Electrical Contractor Reaches $2.75 Million Settlement In D.C. Wage Theft Lawsuit
Natalie Delgadillo
The D.C. Attorney General’s Office has reached its largest-ever settlement in a wage theft case, the office announced on Wednesday.
A national electrical contractor called Power Design will be required to pay out $2.75 million to resolve a suit accusing the Florida-based company and two of its subcontractors of stealing wages from hundreds of electrical workers and shirking D.C. taxes.
In his original 2018 lawsuit against the company, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine alleged that Power Design, along with subcontractors JVA Services and DDK Electric, misclassified more than 500 employees as independent contractors in order to avoid paying for benefits and other labor costs. The suit claimed that the company also did not pay its workers overtime or minimum wage, and shirked unemployment insurance taxes, from 2014 to 2017.
The company had worked on at least 10 construction projects in the city, including the LINE Hotel and a number of luxury apartment buildings, according to Racine’s office. It has also been approved to participate in a local apprenticeship program through the D.C. Apprenticeship Council, which declined to remove the company from the program even after the lawsuit was filed.
“We have been concerned about Power Design’s treatment of workers for many years now,” said Elizabeth Falcon, the executive director of DC Jobs with Justice, in a statement. The coalition of labor organizers has been calling attention to Power Design’s labor practices since 2017. “D.C. has some of the best laws in the country that support and protect workers, and strong enforcement action like this show that we are serious about putting our values into practice for workers.”
....
Electrical Contractor Reaches $2.75 Million Settlement In D.C. Wage Theft Lawsuit
Natalie Delgadillo
The D.C. Attorney General’s Office has reached its largest-ever settlement in a wage theft case, the office announced on Wednesday.
A national electrical contractor called Power Design will be required to pay out $2.75 million to resolve a suit accusing the Florida-based company and two of its subcontractors of stealing wages from hundreds of electrical workers and shirking D.C. taxes.
In his original 2018 lawsuit against the company, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine alleged that Power Design, along with subcontractors JVA Services and DDK Electric, misclassified more than 500 employees as independent contractors in order to avoid paying for benefits and other labor costs. The suit claimed that the company also did not pay its workers overtime or minimum wage, and shirked unemployment insurance taxes, from 2014 to 2017.
The company had worked on at least 10 construction projects in the city, including the LINE Hotel and a number of luxury apartment buildings, according to Racine’s office. It has also been approved to participate in a local apprenticeship program through the D.C. Apprenticeship Council, which declined to remove the company from the program even after the lawsuit was filed.
“We have been concerned about Power Design’s treatment of workers for many years now,” said Elizabeth Falcon, the executive director of DC Jobs with Justice, in a statement. The coalition of labor organizers has been calling attention to Power Design’s labor practices since 2017. “D.C. has some of the best laws in the country that support and protect workers, and strong enforcement action like this show that we are serious about putting our values into practice for workers.”
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