Murphy Anderson Recovers Prevailing Wages for Glazier Workers on D.C. Housing Project
Two glaziers who worked on a D.C. affordable housing project and who were paid substantially less than the prevailing wage for glazier work have settled their claims with the general contractor and subcontractor on the project. The glaziers had sued the contractors under the D.C. Wage Payment and Collection Act, a law which allows employees to sue for wage theft and obtain quadruple damages, statutory penalties, and attorney fees. The glaziers settled their claims for over three times the amount of money that was unlawfully withheld from them by their employer.
The case, which was filed by Murphy Anderson in D.C. Superior Court and dismissed after settlement was reached, alleged that the glaziers’ employer, subcontractor Pegasus Glazing, LLC, paid them $21 per hour, instead of the $42.46 per hour in wages and fringe benefits that they were supposed to be paid under the construction contract and D.C. law. The affordable housing project was funded by a subsidized loan from the D.C. Government’s Housing Production Trust Fund, and workers employed on construction projects financed by the Fund must be paid prevailing wages and fringe benefits as established by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Although Pegasus did not appear in the case, the workers were able to settle with the general contractor Gilbane Residential Construction, LLC and subcontractor Continental Construction, Inc. that allegedly subcontracted Pegasus. The DC Wage Payment and Collection Act makes general contractors jointly and severally liable for wage theft by their subcontractors.
Murphy Anderson’s Mark Hanna and Nicolas Mendoza represented the workers.