— Record year under Thompson for worker wage collections —

The Office of New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. over the past fiscal year collected more than $3.8 million from contractors in wages and benefits due to workers who had been cheated out of prevailing wages for work on City projects.

“Prevailing wage laws exist to ensure that workers are paid their legal wages,” Thompson said. “While law-breaking contractors are not the norm, too many companies still attempt to cheat employees out of their lawful wages. When they do this on City projects, my office pursues restitution for the workers, and debars contractors that egregiously disregard the labor law.”

In Fiscal Year 2009, the Comptroller’s Bureau of Labor Law collected $3,892,148 —a record high under the Thompson administration —in back wages and interest owed to workers by contractors who failed to pay prevailing wages and benefits. Thompson’s office also collected $266,090 in penalties from law-breaking contractors, which constitutes revenue for the City of New York. In the previous fiscal year, Thompson collected $1,930,282 in wages and benefits for workers.

The largest financial settlement in FY 2009 and largest settlement during Comptroller Thompson’s tenure was a $1.5 million settlement for 32 school construction workers.  In August 2008, Thompson’s office reached settlements with Admiral Construction Services Corporation and Admiral Environmental LLC, which had contracts for the installation of new windows in City public schools throughout the five boroughs. As part of the settlement, the two Admiral companies agreed not to bid on, or accept, any public work contracts or subcontracts within the City or State.

Most of the Admiral workers who removed and installed the windows were paid the Asbestos Handlers wage rate under the prevailing wage law. However, videotapes of the removal and installation process showed that much of the work performed should have been paid at the higher Ornamental Ironworker and Mason Tender rates.

Working with Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, Thompson’s office also obtained more than $1 million in restitution for ten former employees of AAR/Co Electric for work at the Queens Botanical Garden and other City projects. Arie Bar, the owner of AAR/Co, and the corporation, are also now debarred from working under contracts or subcontracts with the City or State governments for five years.

This May, Thompson’s office collected nearly $750,000 in back wages and interest for 12 workers, as well as a $37,000 civil penalty, from Verizon Select Services Inc. (VSSI). The company had contracts with the City’s Department of Information & Telecommunications to maintain, repair and upgrade Nortel Meridian and Norstar phone, fax and computer systems to government offices in the Municipal Building and other City-owned facilities. VSSI was obliged to pay its employees the Telecommunication Worker rate or the Electrician rate when performing public work such as installing and pulling cables for data, voice and video applications.

The office also succeeded in gaining nearly $100,000 in back wages and interest in June for 21 employees of Servi-Tek Elevator Corporation who were underpaid for their work rehabilitating elevators at a public office building in the Bronx. Servi-Tek also was debarred from public work in the City and State for five years.

Over the past seven fiscal years, Thompson has collected wages, benefits and interest on underpayments due to workers totaling $14,973,503 and collected an additional $1,207,713 in penalties paid to the City.

The City Comptroller enforces State laws that require private sector companies to pay employees prevailing wages and benefits when they work on public works contracts with the City for construction or building services. The Comptroller also enforces the City’s living wage law that sets minimum wage rates for security guards employed by City contractors, cleaners, day care workers and several other job titles when they are employed by City contractors.  

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