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Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Press Releases
U.S. Department of Labor |
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HOUSTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor is taking legal action against Houston-based A&B Mail Transporting Service on behalf of 29 workers to recover $530,000 in unpaid overtime back wages, the department announced today.
The Labor Department also reported that payment of back wages is ongoing, and that A&B Transporting Service has agreed to voluntary debarment precluding the company from receiving any new federal government contracts for three years.
“Employees did not receive the wages set forth in their service contracts,” said Cynthia Watson, the Wage and Hour Division’s Southwest regional administrator. “This legal action on behalf of 29 workers demonstrates the department’s, and the Wage and Hour Division’s, commitment to ensuring every worker in America is fairly compensated for his or her time in the workplace.”
A&B Mail Transporting Service is a contract mail hauler engaged in loading, unloading and transporting mail for the U.S. Postal Service in the north Houston area.
The investigation by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division’s Houston office covering the period from November 2003 to September 2009 found the company’s payment of the 29 employees at a day rate to be a violation of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA).
The SCA covers contracts entered into by federal agencies where the principal purpose of the contract is to furnish services in the United States through the use of service employees. The law requires every federal service contract in excess of $2,500 to contain a wage determination reflecting prevailing local wages and fringe benefits
For more information about the SCA and other federal wage laws, call the Wage and Hour Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the division’s district office in Houston at 713-339-5500. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov
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