{"id":2271512,"date":"2024-06-19T12:52:10","date_gmt":"2024-06-19T16:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-attorney-general-sues-construction-firms-for-illegal-worker-misclassification\/"},"modified":"2024-06-19T12:53:48","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T16:53:48","slug":"dc-attorney-general-sues-construction-firms-for-illegal-worker-misclassification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-attorney-general-sues-construction-firms-for-illegal-worker-misclassification\/","title":{"rendered":"DC Attorney General files lawsuit against construction companies for unlawfully misclassifying workers"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdc-attorney-general-sues-construction-firms-for-illegal-worker-misclassification%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2271512&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Attorney \u2064General Brian Schwalb of \u2064Washington, D.C., has filed a\u200b lawsuit against five construction companies for \u2064allegedly engaging in a scheme that\u200b misclassified \u200cworkers, thereby denying them rightful wages and \u2062benefits. The companies implicated include Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, Welch Mechanical Contractors, and three labor brokers:\u200d Mechanical \u200cPlumbing Crew, Ramirez Plumbing, and GINCO HVAC. \u2064The \u200csuit claims\u2063 these companies violated the district&#8217;s wage-and-hour laws to reduce costs and increase profits at the expense \u2063of\u200d the workers.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Washington, D.C.<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/attorney-general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Attorney General<\/a> Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit against five <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/construction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>construction<\/a> companies, claiming they used a widespread misclassification scheme to deny hundreds of workers their wages and benefits.<\/p>\n<p>The Office of the Attorney General\u2019s investigation found that the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, Welch Mechanical Contractors, and three labor brokers (Mechanical Plumbing Crew, Ramirez Plumbing, and GINCO HVAC) violated Washington\u2019s wage-and-hour laws. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is unacceptable for businesses operating in the District of Columbia to boost their profits by stealing from workers,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/oag.dc.gov\/release\/attorney-general-schwalb-sues-5-construction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> Schwalb. <\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/oag.dc.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2024-06\/Welch-Complaint-Final-.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>lawsuit<\/a> alleges these companies attempted to reduce costs by unlawfully categorizing more than 370 workers as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/labor-nominee-dismisses-job-losses-from-bidens-economic-plan\/\" title=\"Labor Nominee Dismisses Job Losses from Biden\u2019s Economic Plan\">independent contractors<\/a>, thereby depriving them of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/minimum-wage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/under-trump-americans-have-seen-their-best-wage-growth-in-40-years\/\" title=\"Under Trump, Americans Have Seen Their Best Wage Growth In 40 Years\">minimum wage<\/a><\/a>, overtime pay, paid sick leave, and other entitled benefits.<\/p>\n<p>According to Schwalb, these firms not only exploit workers but also gain an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/can-men-and-women-compete-athletically-heres-what-the-science-says\/\" title=\"Can Men And Women Compete Athletically? Here\u2019s What The Science Says.\">unfair competitive advantage<\/a> over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>businesses<\/a> that comply with regulations. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy office will always have workers\u2019 backs and ensure that all businesses in the District compete on a level playing field,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>One of Welch Mechanical Contractors\u2019s most prominent projects is the City Ridge mixed-use development on Wisconsin Avenue in Northwest Washington. This $715 million initiative will replace the former Fannie Mae campus.<\/p>\n<p>Chuck Sewell, marketing director for the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers union, explained that many nonunion contractors in the industry hire subcontractors known as labor brokers. <\/p>\n<p>These brokers act as intermediaries between workers and construction companies, resulting in a diffusion of responsibility for workers\u2019 conditions, rights, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/welfare\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>welfare<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey misclassify workers to avoid paying taxes, workman\u2019s compensation insurance, and many other things they are required by law to pay,\u201d Sewell added.<\/p>\n<p>Through this lawsuit, the OAG aims to secure restitution for affected workers, impose court penalties on these companies, and enforce compliance with Washington\u2019s Workplace Fraud Act, Minimum Wage Revision Act, and Sick and Safe Leave Act.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued five construction firms, alleging a misclassification scheme that cheated hundreds of workers out of wages and benefits. The lawsuit targets Whiting-Turner Contracting, Welch Mechanical Contractors, and three labor brokers: Mechanical Plumbing Crew, Ramirez Plumbing, and others, following an investigation by the Attorney General&#8217;s Office<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3166,"featured_media":2271513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP66910903245.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2271512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP66910903245.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2271512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2271513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2271512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2271512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2271512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}