SACRAMENTO, CA,. The California Professional Association of Specialty Contractors (CALPASC), representing hundreds of contractors, applauded the announcement by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) to implement a mechanics’ lien to recover nearly a quarter of a million dollars in unpaid wages for 31 construction workers at a Northern California project extending from January through May 2013.
The joint efforts of the DIR and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), through California’s Labor Enforcement Task Force (LETF), uncovered that Redwood Coast Hospitality, LLC hired Jansen Construction to build a Holiday Inn Express in Eureka, California. Jansen Construction subsequently subcontracted with PacWest Contracting LLC out of Bend Oregon, which was not appropriately licensed in California and misclassified employees by hiring them under the pretext of independent contractors.
According to the DIR’s release, the joint enforcement efforts “also uncovered 13 workplace safety violations including five categorized as serious for unsafe ladders, failure to provide fall protection and scaffolding, inadequate training to recognize fall hazards and unguarded saws,” resulting in $27,000 of citations.
Elsewhere Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) Tony Rackauckas’s July 29 announcement of the county’s first prosecution for fraud related to public works contracts confirmed his office’s intent to focus on contractors who violate the law.
Reza Mohammedi of Tustin, who owned Southland Construction, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to 15 felony counts of failing to file a return with the intent to evade tax; 15 felony counts of willful failure to pay tax; seven felony counts of taking and receiving a portion of a worker’s wage on public work; six felony counts of recording false and forged instruments; and three felony counts of filing false tax returns. His restitution hearing is set for November 29, 2013.
In response to the DIR’s recent announcements, CALPASC Director of Risk Management Bruce Wisk issued the following comments, “The combined actions of DIR and Cal/OSHA send a strong message that enforcement can reach the far corners of California, not just the urban centers. The multi-agency collaboration efforts of LETF continue to demonstrate that unlawful employers who intentionally take advantage of workers and place them in a vulnerable environment will be targeted and brought to justice. Legitimate California contractors have been subjected too long to unfair competition from out-of-state contractors.
“This enforcement action signals project owners that their jobs will be hit with liens and incur other tie-ups when hiring unsafe and non-compliant contractors. California workers should not be subjected to unsafe conditions and unfair payment practices. We appreciate the LETF taking back the ground for workers and legitimate contractors.”
Filing a Claim
The industry is encouraged to file an anonymous claim, and CALPASC will help along the way. The steps in the process are as follows:
■ You contact Bruce Wick by e-mail or phone at 909-793-9932 if you suspect a certain trade contractor to be a flagrant violator.
■ By researching the matter further with you, Bruce will help qualify whether or not the claim should be considered for probable investigation by a state agency.
■ If the claim qualifies, CALPASC will communicate directly with the appropriate state agencies’ contacts to notify them that they will be receiving a call from a CALPASC member/supporter regarding an alleged violation.
■ Bruce will follow-up with the CALPASC member/supporter who made the claim and the state agency to encourage the investigation moves forward.
As of June 1 this activity has resulted in 35 qualified claims, almost all of which brought charges and or have turned into investigations. We expect many more to follow, and when fines, penalties, criminal action, etc. results from it CALPASC will send hard-hitting press releases to high-profile media outlets across the State.
SOURCE California Professional Association of Specialty Contractors (CALPASC)