LOS ANGELES – On February 11, 2019, the Labor Commissioner’s Office announced it cited a Southern California subcontractor for nearly $12 million in wage theft violations that left more than a thousand workers waiting weeks or months to be paid, only to receive a portion of what they were owed.

According to the Labor Commissioner’s Office, RDV Construction, Inc., based in the City of Industry, hired crews to provide framing, drywall and other trade work for hotels, apartments and mixed-use buildings around Los Angeles. Over a 21-month period, the company reportedly paid employees with checks that did not clear due to insufficient funds. After the checks bounced, RDV Construction failed to pay all wages due to the workers.

The Labor Commissioner’s Office launched its investigation in January 2017 and determined that between 2014 and 2017, RDV employed more than 1,000 workers at 35 construction sites in the region, and typically worked the crews nine hours a day without proper rest breaks or overtime. Investigators also found the employer habitually and illegally withheld 10 to 25 percent of earned wages from the workers.

The citations issued total $11,943,054 payable to workers in unpaid wages and premiums including:

• $5,407,944 in waiting time penalties for failing to timely pay 1,089 employees
• $1,623,020 for minimum wage violations affecting 844 employees
• $1,692,430 in liquidated damages for those minimum wage violations
• $1,769,782 for failing to provide proper rest breaks to 1,125 employees
• $566,897 for failing to properly pay 1,111 workers overtime
• $882,981 for improper wage statements issued to 1,109 employees

The Labor Commissioner’s Office launched an investigation of RDV Construction, Inc. after workers complained about pay violations to Carpenters Contractors Cooperation Committee, a non-profit labor-management organization.

“The Labor Commissioner’s Office employs investigators who look into allegations and complaints regarding wage theft and other work-related issues,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.  “Their investigations can be lengthy and complicated and when warranted, result in citations and money for those who rightfully earned it and didn’t receive it.”