The state labor commissioner has ordered two subcontractors working on the UC Davis Tercero student housing project to pay nearly $1.5 million in back wages and penalties for labor violations – just a few months after two other subcontractors on the same project were accused of similar misdeeds.
An investigation by the California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Labor Standards Enforcement found that Nevada-based subcontractors Kings Drywall Inc. and JL Home Development had willfully broken prevailing wage laws. The investigation found that the companies had failed to report workers on their certified payroll reports, pay overtime and provide accurate deduction statements.
Both companies were working on UC Davis’ Tercero II student housing – a new, $25 million residence hall designed to fit about 600 first-year students and resident advisors at the corner of La Rue Drive and Dairy Road. The project should be completed in about a month.
The division ordered JL Home Development and Kings Drywall, which has an office in Clovis, to pay nearly $1.2 million in back wages for 149 workers, plus $194,000 in penalties for violations of the labor code that regulates public works projects. An additional $92,000 citation was issued because employees’ wage statements had inaccurate and incomplete information.
“My office is committed to providing a level playing field for all contractors who comply with the law,” Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet said in a prepared statement. “Contractors simply cannot cut corners and intentionally underpay their workers depriving those employees of the money they earned. I believe the action my office is taking against Kings Drywall and JL Home will continue to serve as a deterrent to any company that is thinking about undermining its employees or the wage laws.”
The violations occurred between February and June of this year, according to the citation. The general contractor on the project, Brown Construction, has since let both firms go, said senior project manager Julianne Nola.
"I think that the university has made an effort to comply and certainly wants to see fairness for the workers," Nola said.
UC Davis’ Tercero student housing has been plagued with labor violations. Just two months ago, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement ordered subcontractors Russell/Thompson and 84 Lumber Inc. to pay $1.5 million in wages and penalties for failing to properly pay 74 employees on the same project.
In both cases, the Sacramento-based Local 64 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America had complained that workers were not being paid fairly, a spokeswoman for the Department of Industrial Relations said. Before the first labor investigation, picketers took to protesting at the job site, according to a June news release from UC Davis.
In the first case, investigators found that the company doing framing work on the project, Russell/Thompson, had failed to pay overtime, misclassified workers and falsified payroll records. Brown Construction had subcontracted the framing work to 84 Lumber, which in turn had subcontracted the work to Russell/Thompson.
Those companies have appealed the violations. If their appeal is successful, the prime contractor on the project – Brown Construction – could be held liable for the back wages and penalties because general contractors are ultimately held responsible for ensuring proper wages are paid on public works projects, according to the Department of Industrial Relations spokeswoman.
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