Feds In Hartford Recover Unpaid Wages From West Hartford Firm

HARTFORD/WEST HARTFORD, CT – Federal officials based in Hartford said Thursday a West Hartford moving and storage firm has paid out $41,221 that it had illegally not paid to employees previously.

According to the The U.S. Department of Labor, which operates an office on High Street in Hartford, the DOL has recovered a total of $41,221 for 22 workers employed by a West Hartford moving and storage company and its subsidiary.

That company, according to the DOL, provided a bulk mail delivery service under a contract with the U.S. Postal Service.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Woodland Moving and Warehouse Inc. and subsidiary ARL Transportation LLC failed to pay the correct prevailing wage rate, according to federal officials.

In addition, according to the DOL, it did not pay holiday and vacation pay for some drivers under the Service Contract Act.

As a result, the employer paid $32,808 to 22 employees, according to the DOL.

Woodland Moving also paid $8,413 to one employee to correct a federal overtime violation, federal labor officials said.

“Federal contractors must know and comply with the requirements of the Service Contract Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The violations found during this investigation were preventable,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Donald Epifano in Hartford.

“We encourage employers with questions and concerns about their responsibilities and employees with questions about their rights under federal wage laws to contact the Wage and Hour Division.”

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time-and-a-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek.

The Service Contract Act requires contractors and subcontractors performing services under contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees in various classes no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality.

Workers who think they're owed wages can call the federal labor department through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Translators are available in 200 languages.

For more information on the U.S. Department of Labor office in Hartford, click on this link.