Feds: $56M settlement with NYC construction firm

By LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK

A construction company whose projects included the stadium where the New York Mets play and the Sept. 11 Memorial agreed to pay up to $56 million in penalties and restitution after admitting a decade-long fraud that included routinely overcharging customers and ignoring minority hiring mandates, authorities announced Tuesday.

A deferred prosecution agreement in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn described the penalty and restitution to be paid by Lend Lease U.S. Construction, a division of an international construction company that employed more than 1,000 workers during the 10-year stretch from 1999 through 2009.

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk said the deal capped a three-year investigation "into a systemic pattern of audacious fraud by one of the world's largest construction firms."

U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch said the company "deceived their customers and stole taxpayer dollars" while abusing a program designed to benefit and train minority contractors.

"The defense of `everyone does it' will not be a shield against law enforcement," she said.

In court papers, prosecutors described how the company routinely overbilled clients including federal, state and local government contracting agencies. The government said James Abadie, who formerly led the company's New York office, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud for overbilling Bovis' clients for more than a decade. Abadie, 55, faces up to 20 years in prison.

The company regularly added up to two hours of unworked overtime to timesheets for labor foremen and charged customers for weeks when foremen were on vacation or out sick, court papers said.

The government said the company also duped the states of New York and New Jersey into believing it had complied with programs designed to boost the participation of small construction companies and companies owned by women or minorities on public construction projects when it had not.

Although New Jersey eliminated its minority and women-owned portion of its program in 2003, obligations incorporated into contracts for public construction projects remained intact, court papers said.

As an example of how minority hiring requirements were dodged, prosecutors described an instance in which Lend Lease U.S. Construction falsely claimed that a company certified as a minority hiring unit would perform 100 percent of the general contract work on construction at the Bronx Criminal Courthouse.

In reality, Lend Lease U.S. Construction performed most of the work itself by directly managing the union, the government said. It said the company placed many of its long-term union employees on the minority-hiring compliant company's payroll, hired other workers and relegated the smaller company's role to providing paychecks for work performed by or at the direction of Lend Lease U.S. Construction employees.

In a statement, the company said it has fully and extensively cooperated in the probe since 2009.

"We accept responsibility for what happened in the past and have agreed to continue to make restitution to the affected clients," said Robert McNamara, chief executive officer of Lend Lease Americas region.

The company was formerly known as Bovis Lend Lease LMB Inc. or Bovis. It was still known as Bovis when a fatal fire occurred during its demolition of the former Deutsche Bank building in lower Manhattan.

Other projects on which it worked included the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, the U.S. Post Office and U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Brooklyn, Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan and various schools in New Jersey's Abbott Districts, where authorities say the company also acted fraudulently to avoid complying with minority hiring laws.

The deferred prosecution agreement spares the company from three counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud if it carries out its promises over the next two years.

The company has pledged to pay the $40.5 million penalty, along with restitution of more than $15 million to victims of the overbilling scheme and to comply in the future with all federal and state criminal laws. It has already paid the city of New York $5 million, $4 million of which is credited against the $40.5 million penalty.

The company also acknowledged in the deal that it has fired or forced resignations of officers and employees responsible for the misdeeds and reduced the responsibilities of others involved in the misconduct.

The government said it permitted the company to avoid criminal prosecution because of its extensive cooperation, its acceptance of responsibility, remedial actions it took voluntarily and its assurances that it will be a model of integrity in the construction industry in New York.

Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-04/D9UBFV4G2.htm

Injunction means Quincy residents won’t be required on school job

Photos

File photo

An architect’s rendering shows what the new Central Middle School is to look like.

By Jack Encarnacao

The Patriot Ledger

Posted Apr 20, 2012 @ 03:20 AM

Last update Apr 20, 2012 @ 08:07 AM

QUINCY —

The city will not require that the company selected to build a new Central Middle School hire Quincy residents.

U.S. District Court Judge Rya Zobel issued an injunction against the city, ordering it not to enforce any provisions of its Responsible Employer Ordinance until a lawsuit filed by the Merit Construction Alliance challenging the ordinance is resolved.

Download injunction

Merit Construction Alliance, which has butted heads with Quincy in the past over a contract for the new high school, represents and advocates for non-union construction companies.

In her decision, Zobel indicated that Merit’s request to have Quincy’s ordinance thrown out is likely to succeed based on the criteria under which a similar ordinance in Fall River was struck down in October. Zobel was the judge in that case as well.

Quincy’s ordinance requires that companies that win contracts for city jobs hire 33 percent Quincy residents per trade. It also requires apprenticeship programs.

In an affidavit filed in the case, Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch argued that the city has a substantial reason to set aside jobs for residents because Quincy’s blue-collar sector needs work. Zobel questioned that argument.

“Quincy provides no evidence that the city engaged in an extensive fact finding, conducted or commissioned any studies, or made any determination based on evidence that non-residents were a particular source of the unemployment of Quincy’s blue-collar workers,” Zobel wrote. “Quincy does not provide a constitutionally adequate justification for treating residents and non-residents differently in connection with the construction of its public works projects.”

City Solicitor James Timmins said the injunction timeframe prevented the city from gathering all of the evidence it needs to make its case.

He said the city will present a more full-bodied argument to retain the residency and apprenticeship provisions of the ordinance.

“We’ll continue to litigate to see if we can preserve those two provisions in our ordinance going forward for other projects,” he said.

Merit Construction Alliance President Ronald Cogliano said Quincy’s defense of the ordinance is a waste of taxpayers’ money and is being pursued by Koch “in the name of helping his cronies in organized labor.’’

“There is nothing responsible about Quincy’s city ordinances when they violate the constitutional rights of working men and women and block them from working on construction projects they are paying for with their tax dollars,” Cogliano said.

Race-bias lawsuit against Walsh OKd as class-action

By: Micah Maidenberg April 16, 2012

In a 33-page ruling issued in late March, U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lefkow certified two classes of black Walsh employees who could be included in the lawsuit, potentially covering thousands of workers. A jury award in the case could be as high as $500 million if the workers prevail in the case, their lawyer estimates.(Crain's) — A dozen black workers employed by Walsh Group Ltd. have scored a big victory in a racial-discrimination suit against the Chicago-based construction company, with a federal judge allowing them to pursue their case as a class-action claim.

The ruling is a setback to Walsh, which had $3.4 billion in revenue in 2010, making it the largest contractor in the Chicago area, according to a 2011 Crain's list.

“The fact that she certified two of the claims gives the plaintiffs a real shot,” says Samuel Tenenbaum, an associate professor at Northwestern University School of Law. In class-action suits, the biggest hurdle for plaintiffs is often achieving class certification, he says. “A lot of this is very discretionary with the judge.”

Calls to Walsh were not returned. The company, which denies the discrimination allegations, had asked Judge Lefkow to deny class certification. Aimee Delaney, a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in Chicago and the company's lead lawyer on the case, did not return calls seeking comment.

Campus Construction Lunch and Learn

Sign Up for a Campus Construction Lunch and Learn UMass Boston Construction Update April 18, 2012 Join the Construction Impact and Awareness Advisory Committee (CIAA) for a free pizza lunch and learn about the latest on the Integrated Sciences Complex and other campus construction projects on Wednesday, April 25 at noon in the Campus Center, Ballroom B. Learn about the upcoming roadway relocation and utility corridor project, parking garage placement, the next academic building, the Calf Pasture Pumping Station, and the former Bayside Expo Center property. Please RSVP before Friday, April 20 by emailing Holly.Sutherland@umb.edu or calling 617-287-5182. This is the second in a series of Lunch and Learns sponsored by the CIAA. Solar Panel Tour In honor of Earth Week, take a tour on Tuesday, April 24 at 11:30 a.m. and learn more about UMass Boston's first solar panel installation.  Meet on the first floor lobby in Wheatley Hall. Both the Campus Construction Lunch and Learn and tour are Spring Enrichment and Engagement Days events.

Connect Sign up for construction updates Integrated Sciences Complex webcam Construction website Master planning website Facilities website Contact Customer Service Email us Construction photos See Also DCAM's website

Equal Pay Day: Women's Bureau Tool Kit

Equal Pay Tool Kit

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"Generations of women have fought for the advancement of their sisters, daughters, and themselves in acts of great courage -- reaching for and winning the right to vote, breaking barriers in America's universities and boardrooms, and flooding the modern workforce with skilled talent. While our Nation has come far, obstacles continue to exist for working women, who still earn less on average than working men. Each year, National Equal Pay Day reflects how far into the current year women must work to match what men earned in the previous year. On National Equal Pay Day, we rededicate ourselves to carrying forward the fight for true economic equality for all, regardless of gender."
— President Barack Obama's proclamation NATIONAL EQUAL PAY DAY, 2011

While women hold nearly half of today's jobs, and their earnings account for a significant portion of the household income that sustains the financial well-being of their families, they are still experiencing a gap in pay compared to men's wages for similar work.

When the Equal Pay Act was signed into law by President Kennedy almost 50 years ago, women were earning an average of 59 cents on the dollar compared to men. Today, we have narrowed that gap, but women still earn about 80 cents on the dollar compared to men. That gap results in the loss of $380,000 over a woman's career. The pay gap is even larger for African-American women (earning about 70 cents), and Latinas (about 60 cents on the dollar).

The documents included here show the work done and the work to be done toward closing the pay gap.

• White House Proclamation: 2011 Equal Pay Day Proclamation (PDF)
• Statement by Secretary Solis on 2011 Equal Pay Day (doc)
• Equal Pay: White House Fact Sheet (doc)
• Equal Pay: White House Fact Sheet (PDF)
• All Equal Pay Fact Sheets 2011 (PDF)
• Highlights of Women's Earnings by region
• Region I: Boston (PDF)
• Region II: New York (PDF)
• Region III: Philadelphia (PDF)
• Region IV: Atlanta (PDF)
• Region V: Chicago (PDF)
• Region VI: Dallas (PDF)
• Region VII: Kansas City (PDF)
• Region VIII: Denver (PDF)
• Region IX: San Francisco (PDF)
• Region X: Seattle (PDF)
• Lost Earnings Chart (April 2011) (xls)
• Lost Earnings Chart (April 2011) (PDF)
• Gender Wage-Gap Chart (April 2011) (xls)
• Gender Wage-Gap Chart (April 2011) (PDF)

Retrieved from: http://www.dol.gov/wb/equal-pay/equal-pay-toolkit-20110412.htm

New Habitat home in Ferndale encourages women in construction

Ralph Schwartz - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

FERNDALE - When Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County builds its next home, almost all of the construction workers will be women.

Groundbreaking for the nonprofit's fourth house in the Trigg Woods neighborhood is Sunday, April 22. The project is Habitat's second "Women Build" home in Whatcom County. The first was completed in July 2011 on the same street.

The program is meant to encourage women to learn construction skills in a supportive environment. Men are not turned away, but at least 75 percent of workers on a given crew should be female, Habitat says.

WANTO Grant Application: Availability of Funds and Solicitation for Grant Applications for Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO)

Retrieved from: http://www.doleta.gov/grants/pdf/wanto_sga_dfa_py_11_10.pdf


Submit your grant application today!

Funding Opportunity Number:  SGA/DFA PY-11-10
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number:  17.201

Key Dates: The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is May 21,
2012.  Applications must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Addresses: Mailed applications must be addressed to the U.S. Department of Labor,
Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management, Attention:  Latifa
Jeter, Grant Officer, Reference SGA/DFA PY 11-10, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room
N4716, Washington, DC 20210.  For complete application and submission information, 
including online application instructions, please refer to section IV.

Summary:
The Women’s Bureau (WB) and the Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) Office
of Apprenticeship (OA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, or the Department), announces the
availability of approximately
$1,800,000 in grant funds authorized under the WANTO Act of 1992, Public Law 102-530, 29
USC 2501 et seq.  To that end, the OA and WB plan to disburse Program Year (PY) 2011 and
2012 WANTO grant funds to six consortia made up of a community-based organization (CBO),
a Local Workforce Investment Area (LWIA) established under the Workforce Investment Act
(WIA) and a registered apprenticeship program (RAP) sponsor.  Each consortium will conduct
innovative projects to improve outreach, recruitment, hiring, training, employment, and retention
of women in apprenticeships in the nontraditional occupations, as defined in Section IX of this
solicitation.

Each CBO, LWIA and RAP consortium must consist of a minimum of  three
components:  1) a CBO (which may be a faith-based organization (FBO)) that has demonstrated
experience in providing women with job-training services; 2) a LWIA (which includes a
representative of the local government responsible for administering workforce programs under
WIA or Workforce Investment Board); and (3) a RAP sponsor (which can be an individual
employer, association of employers, or an apprenticeship committee which includes joint and
non-joint committees designated by the sponsor to administer and operate an apprenticeship
program and in whose name the apprenticeship program is registered or approved).  It is
anticipated that awards will be in the amount of up to $300,000 over the two-year grant period.
The grants will be awarded in June 2012 and funded over a two-year period

Complete information is available at http://www.doleta.gov/grants/pdf/wanto_sga_dfa_py_11_10.pdf

Women and Work: This is What Real Women Working Look Like

By: Nancy Hiller

Posted: 02/21/2012 6:03 pm 

When I was 14, my mother took me to a dermatologist to have the row of warts on my right middle finger permanently removed. Two treatments were available. The doctor recommended the more costly, which would leave my hand unblemished. The less expensive option, burning the warts with liquid nitrogen, would cause scars.

"Oh, we're not worried about scars," my mother said. "Nancy's hands will be working hands." I'm not sure where she got this idea, especially considering that I spent more time translating Virgil and Plato than wielding a plane or hammer, but we went with the liquid nitrogen. I sometimes wonder whether her words influenced my early decision to become a cabinetmaker.

If I Had A Hammer

NATIONAL

If I Had A Hammer

BY

JANE LATOUR

 MARCH 30, 2012

ISSUE #

175

Women are part of almost every blue-collar workplace. They’re behind the scenes, alongside the men. They’re installing fiber optics for a telecom company, fixing Con Edison equipment in the “manholes,” behind the stage providing sound and lighting for Broadway shows, and on construction sites around the city. Almost five decades after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with its Title VII provisions for equal employment opportunity, and subsequent struggles through which women won the right to enter any apprentice program for the skilled trades — to become carpenters, electricians, painters and plumbers or join the fire department — they’re on the job. But their numbers are low, and consequently they remain invisible. And that’s a problem.

As long as women make up a statistically insignificant proportion of the blue-collar workforce, they’re all too often viewed as what groundbreaking carpenter Irene Soloway called “the creature with two heads.” As long as they are a tiny minority on any job, harassment and discrimination will continue. In the late 1960s and 1970s, the pioneers challenged stereotypes and broke barriers on the far frontier of feminism. Yet the persistence of discrimination leads directly to problems of recruitment and retention — posing a Catch-22 for women working in skilled blue-collar jobs. For Women’s History Month, I surveyed some of the women working in these jobs and some who paved the way for others. These firsthand reports tell us what improvements have been made and what still needs to change in order to extend the gains of the women’s movement to the working class.

Female firefighters

While the New York City Fire Department has made great strides since the days of litigating, demonstrating and other forms of outright opposition to females in the ranks, there are currently only 28 female firefighters in a force of more than 11,000. The good news is that more than 2,600 women have applied to take the test to become a firefighter, according to Regina Wilson, president of United Women Firefighters.

Firefighter JoAnn Jacobs was among the first group of 40 women to enter the department in 1982, and she has recruited, mentored and trained women in preparation for prior tests. “I think that the presence of women firefighters on TV shows and in commercials makes a difference,” she said. “It’s a visual cue to women. You only need one for a woman to see something that gets her thinking: I can do that, too. They’ve grown up seeing this. Young women are so much more physical and strong. And then their husbands and boyfriends are encouraging them. Men see women doing kick boxing and other things that are outside the conventional female stereotypes. Women have stepped out of the traditional roles and images and these things are all making a difference.”

Then again, stereotypes endure, as Eileen Sullivan, a pioneering tractor-trailer driver, can attest. “This woman cab driver assured me that she was qualified to drive because she was a laid-off tractor-trailer driver. I assured her I would be fine with her driving but was disappointed that she felt the need to point it out — until she mentioned how many women refused to drive with her and would order another cab,” she said.

Tile setter Angela Olszewski offers another perspective — about life inside her former union, Local 7, Bricklayers. “The union’s public relations apparatus regularly exploited my intelligence, aptitude and skills,” Olszewski recalled. “I appeared in union videos, newsletters and performed installation demonstrations. Ironically, at the same time my union appointed me to their Women’s Task Force in 2001, I was also begging my employer, the local, and my apprentice coordinator to be trained in the higher skill sets of my craft. In my former union, women are nothing more than a novelty and are not taken seriously.”