The U.S. Department of Labor said Nov. 19 that it has retrieved more than $1.4 million owed to 36 Mexican engineers working for National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO), a General Dynamics Corp. subsidiary in San Diego.
The department said the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act after its Wage and Hour Division discovered that NASSCO used the L-1B visa program to bring these engineers from a General Dynamics subsidiary in Mexicali, Mexico, and paid them in pesos at Mexican pay rates.
The engineers, who work an average of 42 hours or more a week, were brought to San Diego for the installation of power plants, engines and machinery and the completion of structures and the completion and furnishing of the interiors of ships, according to the agency.
It was determined that the 36 engineers are owed $719,135 in minimum and overtime wages, as well as same amount in liquidated damages, according to the department.
The department also found that NASSCO “wrongfully treated the traveling workers’ per diem and lodging costs as wages and did not maintain accurate time records for them.”
“General Dynamics NASSCO brought these specialized workers from Mexico to San Diego to build vessels for the U.S. Navy but failed to follow the federal wage regulations that protect anyone working in the U.S.,” Wage and Hour Division District Director Min Park-Chung explained.
“The Wage and Hour Division works closely with the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego to educate Mexican nationals about their rights as workers in the U.S. and ensure those who employ them understand and comply with the law.”
NASSCO could not be reached for comment.
