Rice Targeting Low-Wage Violators

DA announces arrest and investigation of several contractors; asks public for tips on those who exploit low-wage workers

MINEOLA, NY – Days after the release of a landmark report documenting the widespread national exploitation of low-wage workers, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that her office has filed charges against a Babylon man for violating New York State wage laws. Rice also announced that her office has launched criminal probes into several instances of suspected violations of the county’s “Living Wage” law. Rice has also established a hotline for members of the public to report anonymous tips to authorities regarding possible violators of the state’s labor and minimum wage laws and Nassau County’s living wage laws.

Jonathan Christian, 36, was arrested Thursday morning by DA Investigators.  He has been charged with ripping off four Suffolk County day laborers working in Nassau for his company, Jonathan Christian Masonry Company, which is based in Lindenhurst. Rice said that he failed to pay the men $19,665 in earned income. He will be arraigned later Thursday in First District Court, Hempstead. He faces up to a year in jail if convicted of violating Article 6 of the New York State Labor Law.

In 2007, the Nassau County legislature passed an ordinance that requires those operating under a taxpayer-financed county contract to pay their employees a “living wage,” which in 2009 is $11.50 per hour.

Rice announced Thursday that she is reviewing five additional cases in which contractors are suspected of violating Nassau County’s living wage law. While a violation of the county ordinance is not punishable by criminal sanction, Rice said that her investigators will pore over documents, contracts and paperwork submitted by the contractors to see if anything submitted was illegally falsified or doctored. The five violations of Nassau County’s living wage were identified by Nassau County comptroller audits of county contracts.

“My office is expanding our criminal investigation to include several contractors who accepted our tax dollars and exploited their employees,” said Rice. “While it’s not a crime to violate the county law, my office will go over every last document to see if crimes were committed during their application or fulfillment of these county contracts. I suspect that this is a purposeful exploitation of some of the neediest and hardest working members of our community. Someone needs to stand up for them and I am proud to do it.”

A recent low-wage labor report thought to be the most comprehensive of its kind in the last decade, indicated that 26% of low-wage workers were being paid less than the federally-established minimum wage, and that more than 75% of those low-wage workers who worked overtime were not getting paid the legally-required overtime rate by their employers.

“Because of the high unemployment rate, these businesses are able to take advantage of our community’s low-wage workers,” said Rice. “One of the keys to economic recovery is to make sure workers are paid what they are owed. I am going to use the power of the criminal justice system to give these workers a voice and hopefully prosecutors across the country will do the same.”

Rice also announced the establishment of a hotline that members of the public can use to call in suspected violators of the local and national wage laws. The number is 516-870-2771.

“We want people to know that they can come to my office with these complaints and that we are here to protect them,” said Rice.

Rice thanked The Hempstead Workplace Project and the New York State Department of Labor for their involvement and assistance in these investigations.

The charges against those mentioned are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.