Workers in a state outside Colorado were involved in a recent battle against a university that had hired them to build several student residences and a dining hall. The university reportedly agreed to settle the wage and hour claim without an admission of fault. The settlement amount is said to the largest ever in the recorded history of that state’s labor bureau, said to span 112 years.
The $2.5 million settlement was announced on a recent Wednesday as a resolution to the ongoing payment dispute. Each worker is set to receive $7,700 before taxes for the construction work on the campus. Apparently, checks have been mailed to 179 workers so far, with another 146 laborers waiting to be paid by May 2016.
The substantial payout comes after an investigation of two years. Approximately 80 audits were conducted by the labor bureau’s Wage and Hour Division. Officials determined that more than 40 contractors and subcontractors had failed to pay more than $2 million in required prevailing wages to workers on the project.
A commissioner from the labor bureau expressed his satisfaction with investigators’ efforts to ensure that workers get paid the wages due them. He said that his agency remains committed to making certain that workers in his state receive full wages according to state law. A Colorado worker with prevailing wage and hour claim issues may find it helpful to discuss the situation with an experienced employment law attorney in the area. Such labor situations can be complex and difficult to resolve without legal intervention. An attorney can act on behalf of an employee to pursue a resolution that protects the worker’s interests.
Source: oregonlive.com, “Southern Oregon University to pay record $2.5 million to settle wage dispute“, George Rede, Dec. 30, 2015