On May 7, 2021, the D.C. Superior Court approved a settlement agreement in which second-tier subcontractor H.E.P. Construction, Inc. ("HEP") agreed to pay $250,000.00 to four construction workers for alleged Davis-Bacon Act ("DBA") violations of its third-tier subcontractor Multi Service Zaldana LLC ("Zaldana"). The award includes back wages, treble damages, and attorney's fees. H.E.P. separately agreed to pay additional wages and fringes owed to 14 other workers who were not part of the lawsuit. The U.S. Department of Labor has also opened a supplemental investigation into HEP's practices.
The plaintiffs in the case alleged that, while performing drywall and finishing work on the Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in D.C., Zaldana failed to pay the proper prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates as required by the DBA. The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit under the D.C. Wage Payment and Collection Law which gives workers the right to sue to recover federal prevailing wages. FFC-MAR filed an amicus brief with the court in support of plaintiffs' claims.
Source: Romero v. H.E.P. Construction, Case No. 2020 CA 003755 B (D.C. Super Ct.)(J.Pan).