Federal labor and criminal enforcement efforts have resulted in major developments across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, according to recent announcements by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has ordered three New Jersey-based construction companies—Above All, Inc.; Regiment Construction Corp.; and Seawolf Construction Corp.—to pay $429,846 in owed back wages and fringe benefits to 12 workers employed on federal construction projects.
The ruling stems from violations of the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires contractors on federal projects to pay prevailing wages. The investigation found that subcontractor Above All underpaid carpenters who should have earned between $59.08 and $68.23 per hour, but were instead paid around $32 per hour on federal projects at VA Medical Centers in Lyons and East Orange.
Investigators also discovered falsified payroll records intended to conceal the wage theft. The ALJ held that prime contractors Regiment and Seawolf share liability with Above All for full repayment. All three companies have filed petitions with the DOL’s Administrative Review Board seeking review of the decision.
In a separate case, a former treasurer of the American Postal Workers Union Local 95 has been sentenced after pleading guilty in March 2025 to three felony charges:
She received four years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and must pay $40,100 in restitution.
A DOL investigation revealed that between December 2019 and December 2022, she:
The former official previously repaid $34,159.68, and the court-ordered restitution adds to that total. As a result of her conviction, she is barred from union office or employment for 13 years.
The DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has awarded $2 million to the State of Ohio through a National Dislocated Worker Grant to provide job training and employment services to workers affected by the closure of the Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC paper mill in Chillicothe.
Pixelle initially announced a June 13, 2025 shutdown of its manufacturing operations. After no buyer was found, the closure was finalized on August 10, resulting in layoffs of approximately 780 employees.
The funding will help retrain and assist displaced workers across eight counties:
Fairfield, Hocking, Jackson, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto, and Vinton.
The grant is backed by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, designed to provide rapid response support in areas experiencing sudden economic disruption.
Originally reported by Pamela Wolf, J. D. in Vital Law.
.webp)
