Valley contractor owes employees $2.6M in wages, damages in settlement

PHOENIX — A Phoenix-area construction contractor agreed to pay $2.6 million in back wages and damages as part of a settlement reached last month, authorities said.

Tempe-based Valley Wide Plastering Construction Inc. was sued for violating federal overtime, record-keeping and retaliation regulations, the U.S. Department of Labor said in a press release Tuesday.

The company, owned by Jesse Guerrero, Rose Guerrero and J.R. Guerrero, agreed to pay $1,312,360 in back wages and the same amount in damages in a consent judgment filed Nov. 17 in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

We're seeking current and former employees of Valley Wide Plastering Construction who may be owed a share of $2.6M+ in overtime wages and damages after a federal court approved a consent judgment. https://t.co/dO3O7aERek

— U.S. Department of Labor (@USDOL) December 6, 2022

Affected former and current employees who believe they are owed back wages should call the Phoenix office of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division at 602-407-5323.

“Our immediate priority is ensuring that workers denied overtime pay receive the wages and damages they are owed,” Jessica Looman, principal deputy administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, said in the release.

The court could take further action against Valley Wide Plastering if it doesn’t pay the amounts due, according to the release.

The company was sanctioned earlier this year for continuing to falsify pay records while the case was ongoing.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will hold accountable employers that continue to break the law – even during litigation – despite knowing what they are doing is illegal,” Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said in the release.

“We will use every tool available to us, including injunctions and contempt actions, to enforce the law and stop wage theft.”

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