Included in total is over $157,000 in unpaid wages recovered from contractors at Fruitport Community Schools Construction Project
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020
LANSING, Mich.—The Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) announced that in 2020 its Wage and Hour Division processed nearly 3,500 complaints covering minimum wage violations and unpaid wages or fringe benefits, and returned nearly $2M in unpaid wages to Michigan’s working families.
“Our department protects the hard-earned wages of Michigan workers and is focused on putting more money in people’s pockets,” LEO Deputy Director for Labor Sean Egan said. “If a worker believes their wages or fringe benefits have been impacted due to a violation of state law, they should contact the Wage and Hour Division.”
In addition to the well-known Minimum Wage law, workers also have protections in the payment of their wages, fringe benefits, deductions and Paid Medical Leave Act enforced by the Wage and Hour Division.
Among wages recovered, two employers were recently found to be in violation of Michigan’s repealed Prevailing Wage Law due to their actions on a Fruitport Schools construction project while the law was still in effect.
Following a complaint, the Michigan Wage and Hour Division investigated and successfully returned a total of $157,150 to employees working on the project. A and B Mechanical Contractors, Inc. submitted payment of $155,742 in unpaid wages and Digital Age Technologies, Inc. submitted $1,408 in unpaid wages. Both contractors fully cooperated with the investigation and performed self-audits reviewed by Wage and Hour.
Under the now repealed law, certain construction projects funded by taxpayer dollars required workers receive wages “prevailing” in the location of the project based on their construction trade. This law was intended to ensure that workers were paid area established wage rates on government projects. The law also supported the development and implementation of apprenticeship programs.
The findings from the Fruitport Community Schools project included improperly classifying workers as apprentices when they were not enrolled in an approved apprenticeship program, improperly classifying workers based on the type of work they were performing and failing to pay the appropriate wage rates.
To file a complaint and for additional information on the laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, visit
Michigan.gov/wagehour.
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