On February 6, 2023, Handley Farah & Anderson filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of a group of construction workers who are former employees of subcontractors for Gilbane Building Company and P&D Contractors. The lawsuit is against Gilbane and several of its subcontractors, and alleges that the workers’ employers failed to lawfully compensate them for work done at a construction project at Hyattsville Middle School.
Wage theft is rampant in the construction industry in the greater Baltimore and District of Columbia’s metropolitan area. One form of wage theft, which the lawsuit alleges has occurred, is when unscrupulous employers fail to pay legally-mandated prevailing wages on government-funded construction projects. The workers in the lawsuit worked as carpenters and finishers, yet were not paid their lawfully owed wages.
Another form of wage theft, which the lawsuit also alleges has occurred, is known as worker misclassification. Worker misclassification is a form of payroll abuse where workers that should be classified as employees are illegally classified as independent contractors. By misclassifying workers, employers deny employees their lawful wages and benefits while simultaneously underfunding social insurance programs like Social Security, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation.
The lawsuit further alleges that these workers were not paid legally required overtime premiums and at times were not paid at all for their work.
Matthew Handley, one of the attorneys representing the workers, commented: “The construction industry in the greater DMV area is unfortunately replete with contractors failing to pay workers their lawfully owed wages. This lawsuit, and others like it, are necessary in order to compensate workers and deter other contractors from violating wage and hour laws.
If you have any questions concerning this case, please contact Matthew Handley, at 202-559-2411 or [email protected]. A copy of the complaint can be found here.