Recent State and Local Cases Enforcers included recovering $130,000 for New York City construction supervisors who were not paid at all, and nearly $220,000 for workers at specialty bars and grocery stores in Seattle based on minimum wage and paid sick leave. Additionally, prosecutors on both sides of the country have taken action against contractors in the construction industry: King County (WA) prosecutors closed a case in which a worker was killed in a preventable ditch collapse, while Manhattan district attorneys Several inland construction companies and their owners were indicted for conspiring to evade more than $1.7 million in workers’ compensation.

Below is a snapshot of some enforcement actions in February and March 2022.

New York Attorney General (AG) Announce This settlement and recovered $130,000 In cases involving construction employers, live-in supervisors were not paid any wages at all, and they were compensated only by providing accommodation (which was necessary to perform the work).

Seattle Office of Labor Standards recover Super Deli Mart, a convenience store and neighborhood bar that sells microbrews, specialty wines, sandwiches, T-shirts and other souvenirs, allegedly violated minimum wage and paid sick and safe leave laws by paying 29 workers nearly $220,000.

Criminal prosecutors have launched an investigation into harmful practices in the construction industry. Manhattan District Attorney’s Office be accused Four interior construction companies, their owners and a manager conspired to evade more than $1.7 million in workers’ compensation insurance premiums over five years. The defendants allegedly created $20 million in off-book cash payrolls during this period.

In Washington state, the owner of a construction company Sentenced 45 days in jail, 18 months probation, and $25,000 fine (in addition to previous labor department fine) criminally responsible In a case brought by King County prosecutors, a worker died after a ditch collapsed.According to former Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) official Jordan Barab, the trench collapse was Well-known and avoidable construction hazards.

The state AG also filed amicus briefs in two Supreme Court cases involving workers whose rights had been violated going to court. if Southwest Airlines v. Saxona coalition of 18 state AGs archive amicus curiae briefly In the U.S. Supreme Court, it has been argued that airport cargo workers belong to a group of transportation workers legally exempt from federal arbitration law and thus can take their cases to court and cannot be subject to compulsory arbitration. compulsory arbitration Workers are prevented from taking their cases to a judge, and instead they are required to file claims against an arbitrator who pays their employers in a secret process. Forced arbitration suppresses worker claims, undermines labor standards, and allows wage theft, discrimination, and other violations to persist without resolution.

if Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Morianacalifornia ag archive amicus curiae briefly Support the state’s Private Attorney General Act (PAGA), which allows workers whose labor rights have been violated in the state to sue employers for penalties on behalf of the state. (A sort of 2014 California Supreme Court case Insist that PAGA is not a priority under the Federal Arbitration Act because PAGA cases are not disputes between workers and employers, but between employers and states, because workers bring PAGA cases on behalf of states. )

In addition, four state AGs submitted a amicus curiae briefing Backed a lawsuit challenging Trump-era rules to allow pork processing plants to increase line speeds and self-monitor. While the AG briefing focuses on food safety issues, the rule also has an impact on workers, who are at greater risk of injury in an already dangerous industry due to increased line speeds.

Several reports were issued on state and local enforcement. In Pennsylvania, the bipartisan joint task force on misclassification of employees released annual report, with 15 unanimous recommendations.The report includes recommendations to adopt ABC test “As the federal baseline standard, clearly define the distinction between ’employee’ and ‘independent contractor,'” along with additional funding and powers for state agencies.The Philadelphia Office of Labor Standards and Worker Protection also released their 2021 Annual ReportThe Chicago Office of Labor Standards issued a annual report The same goes for 2021.