{"id":42976,"date":"2015-10-23T17:28:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-09T19:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/investigation-uncovers-60000-in-unpaid-wages-lack-of-workers-compensation-insurance-at-berkeley-housing-development\/"},"modified":"2015-10-23T17:30:04","modified_gmt":"2015-10-23T21:30:04","slug":"una-investigacion-revela-60000-en-sueldos-no-pagados-y-la-falta-de-seguro-de-compensacion-de-trabajadores-en-proyecto-de-viviendas-de-berkeley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/una-investigacion-revela-60000-en-sueldos-no-pagados-y-la-falta-de-seguro-de-compensacion-de-trabajadores-en-proyecto-de-viviendas-de-berkeley\/","title":{"rendered":"Investigation Uncovers $60,000 in Unpaid Wages, Lack of Workers&#8217; Compensation Insurance at Berkeley Housing Development"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><![CDATA[\n\/* Style Definitions *\/\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n]]><\/style>\n<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p><span class=\"xn-location\">OAKLAND, Calif.<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-chron\">Oct. 9, 2015<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212; California Labor Commissioner <span class=\"xn-person\">Julie A. Su<\/span> has filed a mechanic&#8217;s lien against Varsity Berkeley, a new 79-unit housing development, to recover nearly <span class=\"xn-money\">$60,000<\/span> in unpaid wages for 21 construction workers. In addition, the Labor Commissioner&#8217;s Office has cited Donohue Construction of <span class=\"xn-location\">Citrus Heights<\/span> <span class=\"xn-money\">$25,500<\/span> for failing to carry workers&#8217; compensation insurance for the employees.<\/p>\n<p>A collaborative inspection by the Labor Enforcement Task Force (LETF) and Joint Enforcement Strike Force (JESF) in July revealed that Donohue Construction, a drywall subcontractor, failed to pay the 21 employees who worked on the apartment building at 2024 Durant Ave. in <span class=\"xn-location\">Berkeley<\/span> between March and July of this year. LETF and JESF are coalitions of <span class=\"xn-org\">California State<\/span> and local enforcement agencies that work to combat the underground economy. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;New development can boost California&#8217;s economy, but we need to ensure workers&#8217; rights aren&#8217;t torn down as new structures go up,&#8221; said <span class=\"xn-person\">Christine Baker<\/span>, Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). &#8220;DIR remains committed to ensuring that all workers in <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> are protected, both financially and physically.&#8221; LETF operates under the direction of DIR.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>A mechanic&#8217;s lien is placed on a property to secure wages owed for work performed there. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The mechanic&#8217;s lien is a significant tool that we can use to recover workers&#8217; rightful pay because it puts a hold on the property in the amount owed to the workers,&#8221; said Labor Commissioner Su. <\/p>\n<p>The wage theft investigation further revealed that some employees were paid with checks that were returned for insufficient funds.<\/p>\n<p>Drywall-Lathers Local 9068 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters filed a report with LETF after several of the Varsity Berkeley workers came forward with complaints about not being paid.\u00a0When LETF&#8217;s investigation discovered that Donohue Construction did not carry a valid workers&#8217; compensation insurance policy, the Labor Commissioner&#8217;s Office placed a stop order on the company&#8217;s work and issued a <span class=\"xn-money\">$25,500<\/span> penalty assessment for employing workers on the site without coverage.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;LETF is grateful that its community partners \u2013 including Drywall-Lathers Local 9068 \u2013 report workplace labor violations and help level the playing field for honest businesses,&#8221; said <span class=\"xn-person\">Dominic Forrest<\/span>, Chief of the Labor Enforcement Task Force.<\/p>\n<p>Multi-agency joint enforcement produces significant results, as detailed in a 2015 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dir.ca.gov\/letf\/LETF_Legislative_Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">report<\/a> to the legislature. With a commitment to ensuring <span class=\"xn-location\">California&#8217;s<\/span> workers receive their fair wages, LETF has assessed <span class=\"xn-money\">$4.2 million<\/span> in wages due to workers since its inception in 2012. <\/p>\n<p>LETF focuses on high-risk industries known to frequently abuse the rights of low wage workers such as car wash, restaurant, manufacturing, roofing, construction, agricultural and auto repair businesses. For a complete list of LETF partner agencies, and to learn more about the underground economy please visit the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dir.ca.gov\/letf\/letf.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">LETF home page<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Leads on underground employers and reports of labor law violations can be submitted online through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dir.ca.gov\/LETF\/Referral\/LETFReferral.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">LETF&#8217;s Online Referral Form<\/a>, by emailing the information to <a href=\"mailto:LETF@dir.ca.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">LETF@dir.ca.gov<\/a>, or by calling LETF toll-free at 1-855-297-5322. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dir.ca.gov\/letf\/Information_for_workers_and_employers.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">LETF labor law publications<\/a> for both workers and employers are also available for free, online.<\/p>\n<p>Employees with work-related questions or complaints may contact DIR&#8217;s Call Center in English or Spanish at 844-LABOR-DIR (844-522-6734). The California Workers&#8217; Information line at 866-924-9757 also offers recorded information in English and Spanish on a variety of work-related topics.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dir.ca.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">California Department of Industrial Relations<\/a>, established in 1927, protects and improves the health, safety, and economic well-being of over 18 million wage earners, and helps their employers comply with state labor laws. DIR is housed within the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.labor.ca.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Labor &amp; Workforce Development Agency<\/a>. For general inquiries, contact DIR&#8217;s Communications Call Center at 844-LABOR-DIR (844-522-6734) for help in locating the appropriate <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dir.ca.gov\/Contactus.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">division or program<\/a> in our department<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CaliforniaDIR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CaliforniaDIR<\/a>\u00a0 <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CA_DIR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/CA_DIR<\/a>\u00a0<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/CaliforniaDIR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/CaliforniaDIR<\/a>\u00a0<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dir.ca.gov\/email\/listsub.asp?choice=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.dir.ca.gov\/email\/listsub.asp?choice=1<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p><span class=\"xn-location\">OAKLAND, Calif.<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-chron\">Oct. 9, 2015<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212; California Labor Commissioner <span class=\"xn-person\">Julie A. Su<\/span> has filed a mechanic&#8217;s lien against Varsity Berkeley, a new 79-unit housing development, to recover nearly <span class=\"xn-money\">$60,000<\/span> in unpaid wages for 21 construction workers. In addition, the Labor Commissioner&#8217;s Office has cited Donohue Construction of <span class=\"xn-location\">Citrus Heights<\/span> <span class=\"xn-money\">$25,500<\/span> for failing to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interes-humano"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42976\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}