Thousands of workers who cleaned and sanitized Iowa poultry facilities after bird flu killed millions of laying hens and turkeys were shorted $3.3 million in back wages and benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday.
The Labor Department filed a complaint Friday after conducting an investigation that found federal contractor Clean Harbors Environmental Services of Norwell, Massachusetts, failed to audit its 145 subcontractors for compliance with federal wage laws while working to clean and disinfect 88 Iowa poultry facilities hit by the avian influenza in 2015.
Nationally, about 50 million birds were lost to avian influenza that hit more than a dozen states. It ranked among the worst outbreaks in the nation's history, based on the number of birds infected. Iowa lost roughly 34 million chickens, turkeys and ducks. It caused an estimated $1.2 billion in economic damage.
The Labor Department said contractors and subcontractors with federally funded service contracts must pay covered workers according to regional prevailing wage and benefit standards under the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act.
Clean Harbors' subcontractors paid service workers less than the required prevailing wage and fringe benefits, the Labor Department said, and miscalculated workers’ hourly rate for overtime pay. And in some cases, contractors failed to pay overtime for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week, the agency said.
The agency said Clean Harbors owes 3,964 employees $3.35...
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