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Common Industry Violators - Construction
In our experience, some businesses and industries are more prone to violate California's labor and employment laws than others. If you are, or used to be, employed in one of the following industries, please read further to see if you may have legal claims against your employer.
Construction
Over 5% of California's workforce is engaged in some fashion in the construction industry, including tradesman, craftsmen, union and non-union workers. There are over 150,000 different construction firms in California of all sizes. Unlicensed contractors are part of the $60-140 billion dollar underground economy that doesn't pay taxes, insurance or follow safety laws.
Employees in the construction field perform some of the most physically demanding tasks and job duties – and they do it on a daily basis. But due to the perceived high cost of labor, many employers in this field look for ways to “cut corners” to save expenses – typically at the employee's expense. Employers on public works projects may not pay the correct prevailing wage. Other employers may refuse to pay overtime, refuse to provide meal or rest breaks, or may intentionally misclassify their employees as independent contractors
. If the employer does not have work available, but still requires its employees to report to work, the employer may fail to pay its construction workers reporting time pay.
Common Construction Industry violations are:
- Failing to pay the proper prevailing wage on government or public works projects.
- Forcing employees to work off the clock without proper pay.
- Paying in cash to avoid minimum wage, overtime, double time or providing proper benefits.
- Working four 10 hour days to avoid overtime.
- Not paying for all hours worked, such as shift meetings, drive time and training in violation of minimum wage, overtime and double time laws.
- Not providing an uninterrupted 30 minute meal period or 10 minute rest periods.
- Not providing drive time pay.
- Not providing at least 1/2 day's wages when requiring the employee to show up for work – also called reporting time pay.
- Not reimbursing employees for expenses incurred for the benefit of the employer, such as business use of personal vehicles, the costs of providing or maintain hand tools, or use of private cell phone.
- Not providing detailed accurate wage statements.
- Misclassifcation of employees as independent contractors.
If you're a construction industry worker and feel you've been a victim of these, or other unlawful employment practices, contact us today for a free case evaluation and to discuss your options.