The California Labor Commission's Office cited subcontractor RDV Construction for nearly $12 million in wage theft violations, according to a news release from the agency. The Southern California subcontractor allegedly left more than 1,000 workers waiting weeks or months to be paid, only to receive a portion of what they were owed.
Over a 21-month period, RDV Construction company paid employees with checks that did not clear due to insufficient funds. After the checks bounced, RDV Construction failed to pay all wages due to the workers.
The citations issued total $11,943,054 payable to workers in unpaid wages and premiums including:
- $5,407,944 in waiting time penalties for failing to timely pay 1,089 employees;
- $1,623,020 for minimum wage violations affecting 844 employees;
- $1,692,430 in liquidated damages for those minimum wage violations;
- $1,769,782 for failing to provide proper rest breaks to 1,125 employees;
- $566,897 for failing to properly pay 1,111 workers overtime; and
- $882,981 for improper wage statements issued to 1,109 employees.
The Labor Commission's Office said RDV Construction violated workers' rights on 35 construction sites across Los Angeles. Regulators are calling it California's largest wage-theft case involving private construction and investigators said the subcontractor habitually withheld 10% to 25% of earned wages from workers. An investigation was launched after workers complained about pay violations to non-profit labor-management organization Carpenters Contractors Cooperation Committee, according to the Labor Commission's Office.
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