This Valley drywall company stiffed its workers. California slaps it with $7.2M in fines

A Visalia-based drywall company faces citations from the state amounting to more than $7.2 million for labor law violations involving wage theft affecting 724 workers.

The fines stem from an investigation launched in 2018 by the California Labor Commissioner’s Office into payroll practices at NGC Construction Inc. That inquiry was sparked by an employee’s report of a labor law violation, and included an audit of the company’s payroll for a three-year period from July 2016 through July 2019.

The investigation determined that NGC Construction paid workers on a piece-rate basis, or a fixed amount per project. Workers installing drywall, doing painting and applying stucco on projects were not paid for rest periods as required by law.

As a result, the agency said, workers’ earnings amounted to less than minimum wage or the contract wages promised by the company and its president/CEO, Julio Mendoza. Some of the company’s truck drivers were also not paid overtime.

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NGC Construction Inc. has filed an appeal to contest citations from the California Labor Commissioner’s Office for more than $7.2 million.

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