DENVER (KDVR) — Over $155,000 in back wages and fringe benefits have been recovered for 19 employees after an investigation of AAA Fire Protection, a Commerce City-based specialty fire suppression contractor, by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The company was contracted to install sprinklers at a mixed-use apartment and retail complex in Denver.
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The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the company had incorrectly classified 16 employees as apprentices and then did not provide firing benefits and the proper wages, which the division said is a violation of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.
“An employer cannot simply classify workers as apprentices and pay them a lower rate. Any workers classified as apprentices must be part of a registered apprenticeship program,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director David Skinner in Denver, in a Department of Labor release. “Contractors can contact us for compliance assistance to learn how to properly classify workers to meet their legal obligation to pay them the wages and benefits they are rightfully due.”…