Questions about obligations to per diem, overtime, prevailing wage, ect

[Gary11734]

There should be someone on prevailing wage jobs that monitors this. You might be able to slyly bring it to his/her attention that this may need to be looked into.

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You call the department of labor. Tell them what project you were on, and they do the rest. They will assign someone to the case.
Why will you get paid? Because the General is ultimately responsible and will hold the subcontractors pay.

You will get paid... It may be three to five years from now. And you might have to go through hoops to get it. Yes, the electrical contractor is pissed off, of course. But, he was screwing you in the first place so who gives a damn.

I had to bid against these scum bags as I put the right labor price up front. And a lot of times, these same contractors got the project since they undercut me.

I hated doing Davis-Bacon work because of all the BS that went with it. Unfortunately, I did 98% of public work, so it went with the territory...

 

[LouisianaApprentice]

You call the department of labor. Tell them what project you were on, and they do the rest. They will assign someone to the case.
Why will you get paid? Because the General is ultimately responsible and will hold the subcontractors pay.

You will get paid... It may be three to five years from now. And you might have to go through hoops to get it. Yes, the electrical contractor is pissed off, of course. But, he was screwing you in the first place so who gives a damn.

I had to bid against these scum bags as I put the right labor price up front. And a lot of times, these same contractors got the project since they undercut me.

I hated doing Davis-Bacon work because of all the BS that went with it. Unfortunately, I did 98% of public work, so it went with the territory...

I'm sorry to hear that. Around here it's every company though some even go to the extent of running a company as two separate entities so no overtime will be paid and employees get two w2s. Others just push their weight around and when u get blacklisted here noone will hire you. There's not enough work in Louisiana to begin with. Then when u do go out on your own in the future they have the power to do just that and undercut you out of all your work until you're out of business. I've seen em do it to new companies trying to get their foot in the door. It's a whole territorial thing here.

 

[Gary11734]

I'm sorry to hear that. Around here it's every company though some even go to the extent of running a company as two separate entities so no overtime will be paid and employees get two w2s. Others just push their weight around and when u get blacklisted here noone will hire you. There's not enough work in Louisiana to begin with. Then when u do go out on your own in the future they have the power to do just that and undercut you out of all your work until you're out of business. I've seen em do it to new companies trying to get their foot in the door. It's a whole territorial thing here.

You don't need a license to get on most Davis-Bacon jobs. A lot is on Military bases. So, you have all the trunk slammers coming in from all over.

I know some went to jail in Miami. They were dumb enough to sign certified payrolls that they were paying the electricians rate but were not. These guys here will not go to jail because they were smart enough to pay a classification rate and claim ignorance...

I would move out and go where it's booming...

 

[petersonra]

You can have a laborer do as you do, but dont try and change a electrician to a laborer as this guy was doing. He clearly was trying to get around the classification of electrician to get a better rate. This kid is a electrical apprentice in his normal duties, not a laborer.

a laborer might get paid more than an electrical apprentice.

 

[growler]

my labor as a helper.

a laborer might get paid more than an electrical apprentice.

Working on a Davis-Bacon type job is the only time where it's better to be an electrician's helper than an apprentice.

There is no helper classification on these jobs. You are either a laborer or an electrician. Experience has nothing to do with pay, if you are doing electrical work and have only one day of experience then you are to be paid as an electrician.

Prevailing wage may not even be that much in that area but it's probably better than that of a laborer.

 

[Fulthrotl]

I'm just trying to see if I'm being treated fairly and if this is all legal as it's pretty frustrating and it feels like I'm getting screwed.

are you being treated "fairly"? all i have to compare your story to is my experience.

the last time i got per diem, i was getting $75 a day, in cash.

that was what they offered, and i accepted it. it was ok at the
time. literally, an envelope full of cash. up front, before i hit the road.

what time was that? 1988. how do you feel now?

 

[petersonra]

are you being treated "fairly"? all i have to compare your story to is my experience.

the last time i got per diem, i was getting $75 a day, in cash.

that was what they offered, and i accepted it. it was ok at the
time. literally, an envelope full of cash. up front, before i hit the road.

what time was that? 1988. how do you feel now?

I ran across a guy who was getting $175 a day per diem in cash for the time he was spending down in Mexico on a startup. The deal was the end user paid him the per diem directly. Every couple of weeks on payday the end user's pay master would give him stacks of 100 Peso notes.

Part of the deal was that the company he actually worked for was allowing him to turn in an expense report as well. What a deal.

 

[Gary11734]

Working on a Davis-Bacon type job is the only time where it's better to be an electrician's helper than an apprentice.

There is no helper classification on these jobs. You are either a laborer or an electrician. Experience has nothing to do with pay, if you are doing electrical work and have only one day of experience then you are to be paid as an electrician.

Prevailing wage may not even be that much in that area but it's probably better than that of a laborer.

This is correct... Davis-Bacon can get your head spinning if you don't know what the rules are...

 

[lakecitieselectric]

I won't list my employer but I'd like to know if I'm being treated right. There's a few things he's done in the last year that seems fishy to me.

With this company we work out of town a lot not out of state but usually 3-5 hours away. He pays 25 a day per diem and only pays riding time one way and only the riding time to the job the first day not to lodging which is another 30 min everyday. He doesn't pay the return trip even though we return to the shop and usually clean off and load up the truck for next week.

He generally gives me an extra 5-8 hours every week as my labor as a helper is cheap an I work overtime but for about 4 weeks I'd work overtime on a prevailing wage job. He would mark me as a laborer for this time and I wouldn't get prevailing wage or overtime. For all other overtime he pays generally. I'm just trying to see if I'm being treated fairly and if this is all legal as it's pretty frustrating and it feels like I'm getting screwed.

I worked for guy once that tried to do this me. We were from Dallas, Texas doing a job in Phoenix, Arizona, and when the job was over I called and said he needed to come pick up his van and tools. He said what do your mean, and I replied, well since you don't pay for drive time back I am catching a flight home since it is faster. Needless to say, he started paying travel both ways.

 

[Gary11734]

a laborer might get paid more than an electrical apprentice.

And, your point?