This Valley drywall company stiffed its workers. California slaps it with $7.2M in fines
UPDATE 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27: NGC Construction Inc. has filed an appeal to contest citations from the California Labor Commissioner’s Office for more than $7.2 million.
“The employer has the right to appeal the citations within 15 days of service of the citation,” a spokesperson for the state Department of Industrial Relations wrote in an email to The Bee. “After the timely appeal has been submitted, an informal hearing will be held to affirm, modify or dismiss the citations.”
“In this case, the employer has filed for an appeal,” the spokesperson added.
The Labor Commissioner has 30 days after receiving the request for appeal in which to conduct the hearing.
The two citations were issued Sept. 27, but were not announced by the state agency until a press release was issued on Oct. 25.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A Visalia-based drywall company faces citations from the state amounting to more than $7.2 million for labor law violations involving wage theft affecting 724 workers.
The fines stem from an investigation launched in 2018 by the California Labor Commissioner’s Office into payroll practices at NGC Construction Inc. That inquiry was sparked by an employee’s report of a labor law violation, and included an audit of the company’s payroll for a three-year period from July 2016 through July 2019.
The investigation determined that NGC Construction paid workers on a piece-rate basis, or a fixed amount per project. Workers installing drywall, doing painting and applying stucco on projects were not paid for rest periods as required by law.
As a result, the agency said, workers’ earnings amounted to less than minimum wage or the contract wages promised by the company and its president/CEO, Julio Mendoza. Some of the company’s truck drivers were also not paid overtime.
“The law is clear: workers earning piece rate must be paid for their rest periods and other non-productive time while under the control of the employer,” state Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower said. “The law ensures workers can take their required rest breaks and are paid for travel time from one worksite to another.”
Workers from the company typically worked eight-hour shifts and were sent to commercial and residential construction sites throughout central California, from Arvin in Kern County to Modesto in Stanislaus County, and as far west as Paso Robles.
More than $4.8 million from the citations is payable to workers for unpaid wages, damages and premiums. The state Department of Industrial Relations reports that when workers are paid less than minimum wage, the workers are entitled to damages equal to the amount underpaid, plus interest.
The state also cited the company and Mendoza more than $2.3 million for violations including failing to pay minimum wages, overtime, meal period premiums, failing to issue proper itemized wage statements, and other civil penalties.
The website for NGC Construction indicates that the company was established in 2016, providing drywall, painting and stucco services as a subcontractor for builders including D.R. Horton, Bonadelle Neighborhoods, Century Communities, K. Hovnanian Homes, Self-Help Enterprises and others.
This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
