The Labor Commissioner’s Office (LCO) has reached a million-dollar wage theft settlement in a lawsuit against Calcrete Construction Inc., based in Glendale. This settlement, amounting to over $1 million, addresses multiple wage theft violations, tackling transgressions of overtime and paid sick leave laws, directly impacting 249 workers in the construction industry.
Calcrete employees who worked from August 1, 2014, to September 30, 2016, may be entitled to unpaid wages and damages, as outlined in this conciliation agreement.
Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower stated, “This employer employed illegal tactics to evade payment of overdue wages. My team acted decisively to recover stolen wages and expose systemic violations.”
The LCO initiated the investigation in October 2016 after receiving a complaint from the Carpenter/Contractor Cooperation Committee, a non-profit organization linked to a union advocating for compliance in the construction industry workplace.
The investigation revealed that Calcrete did not compensate its workers for overtime hours, did not properly allocate payment for sick leave, and did not provide accurate wage statements. For example, Calcrete employees regularly worked between 45 and 68 hours per week without receiving corresponding overtime pay during a two-year audited period from 2014 to 2016.
The agreement includes payment of overdue overtime wages to workers, with added interest. Individual payments range from $344 to $20,893, compensating for the time and effort dedicated by the employees.
Compliance investigations often involve an audit of past payroll to identify violations of minimum wage, overtime, and other labor laws.
These audits calculate outstanding payments and corresponding fines. When workers receive wages below the established minimum, they are entitled to liquidated damages equivalent to the amount of unpaid minimum wages, plus interest.
The Labor Standards Enforcement Division of the Department of Industrial Relations (California Labor Commissioner’s Office) works tirelessly to combat wage theft and unfair competition. Their efforts focus on investigating complaints of illegal and unfair business practices, ensuring a fair and equitable workplace for all workers.
