SUMMERVILLE, OR – A federal contractor in Oregon misclassified dozens of workers – who battled some of the nation’s worst wildfires an average of 70 hours a week in 2020 and 2021 – as independent contractors and denied them their full wages and benefits as a result, the U.S. Department of Labor has found.
Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined KL Farms/Fire LLC of Summerville paid a flat daily rate of between $200 and $250 to 57 firefighters and truck drivers, regardless of their total hours worked. From June 2019 through October 2021, the U.S. Forest Service contracted the company to provide fire engines, firefighters, trucks and driver services for fire suppression and firefighting in Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington.
In 2020, the wage standard for firefighters – established by provisions of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract and Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards acts – was set at a minimum of $9.38 an hour plus an additional $4.22 in fringe benefits, and the minimum for truck drivers was $18.20 an hour and an additional $4.22 in fringe benefits. The acts’ provisions establish wage rates and benefits for work funded by federal contracts.
By paying a flat daily rate, KL Farms/Fire LLC also incurred overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators also identified violations of the FLSA’s recordkeeping requirements.
As a result of its investigation, the division recovered $152,003 in overtime wages and...
Budget figures show 1.765 million permanent migrants will arrive in Australia over the next three years. Our verdict False. The budget doesn't forecast permanent migration, and other migration for...