Dear New Yorkers, 

It is a good day when workers get paid their due and cheaters are held accountable.  

Earlier this month, we gathered with Attorney General Letitia James and workers with 32BJ SEIU to announce a settlement to return more than $723,000 in unpaid wages and benefits to 24 workers, as well as $1.8 million dollars in penalties to the city and state. 

The Bureau of Labor Law at the Comptroller’s Office sets and enforces prevailing wages for employees work on City public works projects in construction, such as renovating public schools or building service contracts, which includes security guard and custodial work. 

Our investigation found that luxury residential property developer Heatherwood Properties (LLC) received tax exemptions on two properties in Queens and Brooklyn under the 421-a program -- but failed to pay required prevailing wages and benefits to building service employees.

Not only did Heatherwood reap tax benefits under false pretenses, they denied hard working New Yorkers the compensation they were due for their labor. Listen to Elizabeth Hernandez, new mom to a 11-month-old talk about why she organized with fellow workers to demand what they were owed.

This is what collaboration in government is all about. 32BJ blew the whistle on Heatherwood’s cheating, and AG James and my office partnered to  put money back in the hands of workers, with interest. 

After identifying bad actors and enforcing the law, the Bureau of Labor Law attempts to find workers who are owed wages from their settlements. Sometimes workers can be hard to find, because they’ve moved or we just don’t have contact information for them. Currently, more than 1300 workers are entitled to payments totaling nearly $3 million from prevailing wage settlements with several companies that worked on City-funded projects.  

Workers who were employed on City-funded worksites like public schools, subway stations, City streets and parks, and believe that our office has collected unpaid prevailing wages from their employers should check the Comptroller’s unclaimed wages mobile-friendly website or send inquiries via email to [email protected].

I want to thank Assistant Comptroller for Labor Law, Constantine “Dean” Kokkoris as well as Senior Advisor for Labor Law Josiel Estrella and the entire Labor Law team for their work on this case, and for the work they do every day to demand justice and fair pay for New York City workers.  

Onwards, 
Brad