Updated at 6:50 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13
City Attorney Mike Feuer filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing city contractors involved in building a South Los Angeles animal care facility of shorting about 50 employees out of a quarter-million dollars in wages and attempting to hide their tracks.
The $9.6 million construction contract for the 68,000-square-foot South Los Angeles Animal Care Center project near Western Avenue and 60th Street was awarded in 2009 to Mackone Development Inc., which then delegated some of the work to five subcontractors.
The lawsuit seeks to have Mackone and its subcontractors pay their employees what they are allegedly owed, and also pursues penalties of $2,500 for each violation. City attorneys also want to bar the companies from seeking future city contracts.
“Stealing wages from hardworking men and women is reprehensible and it must end,” Feuer said. “No one — especially city contractors paid with taxpayer dollars — should fail to pay workers what they are rightly owed.”
Mark Feldman, an attorney for Mackone, called Feuer’s allegations “false,” and said it is “reprehensible that the Office of the City Attorney would make such unsupported statements” about the company.
Feldman said the city “has already agreed in writing that Mackone Development was not responsible for the alleged underpayments.”
Feldman said the agreement — in which both parties agreed to “waive all claims against Mackone Development” — resulted from administrative claim the City Attorney’s office filed last year against the company with the state Department of Industrial Relations.
The city’s lawsuit alleges Mackone failed to pay the state prevailing wage for Saturday hours and also did not report the weekend hours as required by the city.
Feldman disputed this allegation, saying a “full audit” was done and one Mackone employee was underpaid accidentally and “the mistake was fixed.”
The company “spends considerable time and money to make sure that its workers are paid the correct wages on public works and private construction projects,” Feldman said.
“Mackone also monitors the subcontractors who submitted bids on the project to make sure that proper wages are paid to their workers.”
“It is irresponsible for the City Attorney to make such allegations about a project that has won accolades and praise from city officials,” Feldman continued. “In the end, Mackone will be cleared of any alleged wrongdoing.”
Feuer’s lawsuit also names subcontractors Pak’s Cabinet, Lectrfy Inc., Southern California Steel Inc., KCC General Construction and King Wire Partitions Inc./Nader Construction.
Pak’s Cabinet paid workers $8 an hour when it was supposed to pay the prevailing wage of as much as $49 an hour, and faked records submitted to the city, according to Feuer.
Lectrfy Inc. was accused of paying less than the state’s prevailing wage and failing to pay for overtime hours.
City attorneys contend Southern California Steel Inc. underpaid its workers because the company allegedly reported fewer hours than were actually worked to state and local agencies, and did not pay fees for workers’ compensation insurance and unemployment insurance.
At least 31 employees of KCC General Construction were allegedly paid the equivalent of $5 an hour, rather the prevailing wage of as much as $45 per hour for their work, city attorneys contend.
King Wire Partitions Inc. and Nader Construction were accused of failing to pay fringe benefits and training fees, as well as improperly classifying their workers so that they were paid less than they are actually owed.
Government contractors are required to pay a “prevailing wage” to those working in the public sector.
Feuer urged the public to report any violations to his wage theft hotline at (213) 978-7141. Wage theft includes workers who are not paid overtime, get paid below the minimum wage of $9 and are not allowed to take lunch breaks.
— City News Service