Oregon bans janitorial company from government jobs over wage theft

[TexasTowelie]

A Hillsboro janitorial company is forever blacklisted from government work after an investigation by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries found widespread underpayment of workers.

As part of the settlement, Cornerstone Janitorial must pay $144,000 in damages to 46 workers. That's on top of almost $200,000 in back wages collected by the bureau last year, in connection with Cornerstone employees' work on 16 different taxpayer-funded projects.

Cornerstone has worked as a cleanup subcontractor for some of the region's biggest construction firms in the region. The investigation involved health and education related projects in Portland, Eugene, Stayton, Junction City, Salem, Keizer, Philomath, Vernonia, Corvallis, Monmouth and Wilsonville, according to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries press release.

Oregon's prevailing wage laws required workers on those public works projects be paid a certain rate.

Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/09/oregon_bans_janitorial_company.html

[Sherman A1]

1. Good

I believe that wage theft should be treated just as any other theft and the parties responsible should be charged criminally. This however, is better than nothing.