Seattle’s labor office alleges numerous violations at three construction sites

The Seattle Office of Labor Standards said two concrete companies operating on local construction sites allegedly violate multiple labor standards and owe 53 workers $ 2,055,204.

The companies involved in the investigation are Baja Concrete, a Miami-based company, and Newway Forming, a Canadian concrete company with an office in Lynnwood. Last week, the OLS claimed that both companies are neither paying workers the minimum wage nor compensating them for all the hours they worked between February 2018 and August 2020, much less overtime pay. The office also said the two companies did not provide adequate rest and paid sick leave.

“A lot happens in this case,” said OLS director Steven Marchese. “This is certainly one of the greater realizations we had.”

The OLS full report says the two companies owe their workers amounts ranging from a few hundred dollars to nearly $ 200,000 in damages, arrears and interest. In some cases, employees could have worked up to 19 hours without adequate rest or meal breaks.

Both companies appealed the finding, which means that a city hearing examiner is reviewing the evidence gathered in the case.

Newway argues that it did not jointly employ any Baja employees and “should not be held responsible for Baja’s actions”. Baja argues that her role was limited to managing payrolls and reimbursing employees’ accommodation and that Newway was responsible for keeping time sheets for the workers and making them available to Baja for processing.

Baja and Newway were unavailable for comment.

The case was referred to the OLS by Casa Latina, a nonprofit that is part of the OLS’s Community Outreach program to educate low-wage workers about their rights and protections.

“People are not aware of their rights in such cases because they may come from different countries with limited occupational safety,” said Nuno Pereira, coordinator for workers’ rights at Casa Latina.

Pereira said a worker who reached out to him after the OLS published their determination felt “validated” knowing that their difficult experiences with the companies were part of a bigger problem.

Most of the violations cited occurred at 1120 Denny Way, where two mixed-use towers are being built in South Lake Union by Onni Contracting, a Canadian company that was fired from the case during the investigation. Onni hired Newway to complete the concrete work and Newway hired Baja to complete the concrete.

Marchese said companies sometimes use subcontractors in construction to protect themselves from such work issues. The OLS recognized this and billed both companies separately and decided to identify the two as joint employers.

The OLS began its investigations in May 2020 and interviewed eight employees who were working on the construction sites concerned. The office also interviewed two people who were managers at Newway during the reporting period. But the office failed to get an interview with any Baja representatives.

Marchese said the investigation had been prolonged by “the lack of coordination, the lack of upcoming information, [and] the missing documentation ”offered by both companies. He said that despite the subpoena, Baja did not provide the OLS with staff contact information, policy documents and various notices to staff.

The two companies took part in settlement talks, although these were also delayed because there were “several parties who did not communicate with each other,” said the OLS in a statement. In the end, no agreement was reached.

“We know that when there is a labor law violation in a workplace, there is often more to it,” wrote Danielle Alvarado, executive director of the Working Washington & Fair Work Center in an email.

Marchese said residential construction sites are a major focus for the OLS, as workers on these projects are often hired as independent contractors rather than employees. He said this could result in workers less informed about labor law ending up in these positions.

“A big problem we have is that if they complain, the employees feel that the employer could do something to them [with] some kind of retaliation, ”said Pereira. But this case shows: “The first step is to report what is going on.”