A Queen’s contractor has recently been charged with stealing nearly $10 million from city prevailing wage contracts. The company, Parkside, kept almost $2 million in wages from its workers and almost $8 million from the state by manipulating how the workers were compensated. Even though Parkside brought in $100 million in contracts for Manhattan projects in 2016 to 2017, they altered worker’s timesheets and falsified payroll numbers instead of fairly paying its employees.
The prevailing wage is the pay rate set by law for work on public works projects. The prevailing wage law covers anyone who: works in construction under a public works contract on a City-owned facility; provides building services such as security, cleaning, temporary office clerical, or food services in a City-owned building; transports fossil fuel, office furniture, rubbish or equipment in a City-owned building; or provides certain home attendant services, day care, or head-start services to New York City residents. Under New York State Labor Law, contractors and subcontractors must pay the prevailing rate of wage and supplements (fringe benefits) to all workers under a public contract.
Often times, contractors try and skirt the law by paying unsuspecting workers lower than the prevailing wage rate. If you are working in any of the possible prevailing wage positions mentioned above, please contact the employment lawyers at Fitapelli & Schaffer, as you may have a wage claim.
The employment lawyers at Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP are strongly committed to protecting the rights of hard working employees. We frequently represent workers who are denied full compensation and prevailing wages for their labor. Call us at (212) 300-0375 for a free phone consultation to discuss your rights. For additional information, please visit our website.