A New Jersey commercial landscaping company must pay $181,670 in back wages and a little more than $38,000 in civil penalties for failing to pay 47 temporary workers prevailing wages or overtime.
Turf Masters, of Bayville, employed grasscutters for more than 50 hours per week, paid the sub-prevailing wage rates for those hours and attempted to hide those practices from the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, an April 14 release said.
“This investigation underscores the department’s commitment to using all enforcement tools to protect the rights of people who work in the U.S.,” Wage and Hour Division District Director Charlene Rachor in Lawrenceville, N.J., said, according to the release. “Other employers should use the outcome of this investigation as an opportunity to review their own practices to make sure they comply with the law and avoid violations like those found in this case.”
An investigation by the Department of Labor found that Turf Masters Inc. violated the requirements of the H-2B worker visa program, the release reported. Instead of paying the prevailing wage rates at the time of $15.52 per hour and $23.28 for overtime hours worked, Turf Masters paid them approximately $11 an hour. Additionally, the company didn't reimburse travel expenses or retain proper records.
“Employers who flout the rules of the H-2B program harm workers and gain unfair economic advantages,” Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey Rogoff in New York said, according to the release. “The U.S. Department of Labor will actively litigate such cases to achieve resolutions that ensure that applicants and workers are properly paid and prevent future violations.”
