Carpenters win $1M back pay on prevailing wage
Illinois Department of Labor rules against developers of Lodge of Northbrook
Developers of the Lodge of Northbrook were ordered to deliver $1.1 million in back pay over violations of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act. (Lodge of Northbrook)
By Ted Cox
The Illinois Department of Labor has issued a $1 million judgment against the developers of a Northbrook senior residence for violating the state’s prevailing-wage law.
The Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters announced the judgment this week. It found the developer of the Lodge of Northbrook, a 164-unit senior housing project, and two subcontractors guilty of wage theft for violating the Prevailing Wage Act and ordered them to deliver a total of $1.1 million in back pay to workers on the development.
According to the union, Essex Corp. developed the Lodge of Northbrook, McShane Construction was the contractor, the carpentry contractor was Horizon Carpentry and the drywall contractor was Russ’s Drywall. The Labor Department judgment called on Horizon to pay its workers an additional $692,000, Russ’s Drywall to pay an additional $249,000, and Essex to pay a penalty of $188,000.
The union based its case on the Prevailing Wage Act, which it said “requires contractors and subcontractors to pay laborers, workers, and mechanics employed on public-works construction projects no less than the general prevailing rate of wages (consisting of hourly cash wages plus fringe benefits) for work of a similar character in the county where the work is performed.” The Lodge of Northbrook was bankrolled by bonds issued through the Illinois Finance Authority.
“Wage theft and the loss of tax revenue affects everyone,” said union Executive Secretary-Treasurer Gary Perinar. “It takes advantage of workers, many of whom are unaware of their right to receive fair wages and benefits for themselves and their families. It puts signatory union contractors at a disadvantage for competitively bid projects. And it cheats communities out of tax dollars to increase future growth, new projects and public services.”
According to the union, “the CRCC filed charges against McShane Construction Co. and its subcontractors in early 2018, but they were never investigated under former Gov. Bruce Rauner despite the fact that the Illinois Finance Authority issued bonds to fund the project.”
“We appreciate Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Department of Labor for addressing wage theft with the seriousness it deserves,” Perinar said. “This is the largest back-pay award we’ve facilitated in our council’s history. We have a new department dedicated to combatting wage theft and are putting unscrupulous contractors on notice that cheating workers and taxpayers will not be tolerated.”
Just last week, the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign produced a study finding that prevailing-wage laws boost not just the rate of homeownership, but the value of homes owned by union workers on public-works projects, leading to an additional $500 million in local property-tax revenues.