Bonney Lake Contractor Ordered To Pay $400K After L&I Investigation

BONNEY LAKE, WA — The state Department of Labor and Industries has ordered a Bonney Lake company to pay over $400,000 in fines and back wages for allegedly violating state wage laws related to public contracts. I&C Northwest did pipe insulation work on buildings in 10 local school districts, but violated the state's prevailing wage law for public contracts, according to L&I.

The company has been ordered to pay $210,000 in back pay for work done in 2015 and 2016 for school districts including Clover Park, Bellevue, Mercer Island, North Thurston, Tacoma, Tumwater, Seattle, and Snoqualmie. The company also must pay $218,000 in fines, and the state might ban the company from bidding on public contracts in the future.

"This case represents examples of repeated violations of the law," said Prevailing Wage Program manager Jim Christensen in a press release. "Our investigation showed I&C falsified pay documents and shorted the workers on each project — this goes beyond a simple, honest mistake."

According to L&I, the company has already paid the back wages. I&C has appealed the administrative fines, however, and will have a hearing on that matter in either April or March 2018.

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