WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia has filed a lawsuit against a national electric contractor and its labor staffing companies, alleging the companies cheated hundreds of workers out of wages and benefits as part of an effort to cut costs.
According to District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, Power Design Inc., JVA Services LLC., and DDK Electric Inc., initiated a scheme in which they illegally classified more than 500 electrical workers. As part of the scheme, Power Design allegedly did not pay minimum wages, overtime and sick leave to workers. The company also failed to pay district payroll taxes, the Attorney General's Office said.
“Power Design cheated hundreds of district workers out of their hard-earned wages and stripped them of their legal rights,” Racine said in a statement. “When companies mis-classify employees as independent contractors, they steal from their workers and gain an unfair advantage over competitors that follow the law.
"[This] lawsuit is about protecting employees and businesses that play by the rules and punishing businesses that do not. District employers that illegally mis-classify workers are now on notice that their theft will not be tolerated.”
The attorney general's lawsuit seeks relief for workers harmed, including lost minimum wages and overtime pay as well as unpaid unemployment insurance taxes and penalties to the District of Columbia.