Almost $800K in Back Wages Recovered After Department of Labor Investigation

Deen Electrical Contractors paid 11 electricians at lower rates as laborers.

A federal investigation of a Jersey City electrical subcontractor on a federally funded residential townhome and apartments project in Paterson found the employer paid 11 electricians wages and fringe benefits at the lower rate paid to laborers, a violation of the law.

The investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division led to the recovery of $799,479 in back wages for the 11 electricians.

Deen Electrical Contractors Inc. misclassified the workers at the Riverside Townhomes and Senior Apartments project and paid them as laborers, in violation of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. By doing so, the employer underpaid the electricians. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funded the project.

“Contractors and subcontractors on federally funded projects are legally obligated to accurately identify workers on work sites, pay them the local prevailing wages and fringe benefits and submit weekly certified payroll records to the contracting agency.” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Paula Ruffin in Mountainside, New Jersey. “Once we completed our investigation, Deen Electrical Contractors paid the back wages promptly.”

The division’s Northern New Jersey District Office investigated the case. Based in Jersey City, Deen Electrical Contractors Inc. has been a family owned and operated contractor for more than 30 years, serving commercial builders, residential owners and performing work under state and federal contracts in North Jersey and the surrounding area.

Read full press release on U.S. Department of Labor