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Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Press Releases
U.S. Department of Labor |
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PHOENIX -- The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking debarment of a Scottsdale-based janitorial contractor and several affiliates for failing to properly compensate employees working under service contracts with the U.S. government. The employees provided janitorial and housekeeping services at military bases in Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina and Florida, as well as a Los Angeles federal building.
A suit filed by attorneys with the Labor Department’s Regional Office of the Solicitor in San Francisco is requesting debarment of Teltara LLC; Teltara Ndee Tribal Enterprises LLC; Teltara LLC president and owner Ralph B. Wahlberg; and Teltara LLC vice president and director of contracting Tom Barnes. The suit, which would bar the parties from receiving federal contracts for a period of three years, was filed on behalf of the secretary of labor to enforce the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act.
“We’re seeking debarment of this company, the owner, the vice president and six companies in which they have substantial interest, due to a long history of noncompliance with federal contracting laws,” said George Friday Jr., administrator of the San Francisco Regional Office of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. “When contractors fail to play by the rules, they not only shortchange their employees, they also undercut their competitors. Our goals are to protect workers and ensure a level playing field for the contractor community.”
Investigations by the Wage and Hour Division’s Phoenix District Office determined that the companies and their officers failed to pay or timely pay $159,871 in required health and welfare benefits, affecting 102 employees and their families. Some employees were left without health care coverage when the payments were not made. The unpaid and delinquent funds all have been restored to the workers’ benefit plans.
The contracts covered services provided at the following facilities: Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.; Groton Naval Submarine Base, Conn.; Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.; Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.; U.S. Navy facilities in Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.; and a federal building in Los Angeles. The employees worked for Teltara LLC, formerly known as Teltara Inc. The debarment request includes the following affiliated limited liability companies: Teltara II; Contract Acquisition Group; Contract Acquisition Group Financial; CAG Employer Services; CAG Business Services, formerly named Teltara Energy Solutions; and Pro Services-Teltara Joint Venture.
The McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act requires contractors and subcontractors performing on federal service contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality for the classification of work that they perform. For more information about pay and benefit laws for contractors and other wage laws, call the Wage and Hour Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or its Phoenix office at 602-514-7100. Information is also available on the Internet at www.dol.gov/whd.
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