TEXAS AGREES TO BACK PAY FOR FIRED WORKERS

The following excerpt is from a National Labor Relations Board e-mail: "In a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board, a Texas scaffolding company has agreed to pay $323,116 in backpay, per diem and interest to 73 former employees who were discharged in violation of federal labor law. The agreement, signed February 3, also requires Atlantic Scaffolding Company to expunge its records of the discharges and send written notification of the action to the employees. The settlement follows a Board decision in March 2011 that found the company unlawfully terminated the 73 employees for engaging in protected concerted activity. The Board later denied the employer’s motion for reconsideration. The employer then provided records to the Board’s Regional Office so that backpay could be calculated. After extensive review of the payroll records, assessment of the interim earnings of the terminated employees, and consultation with the employer and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Local 502, the Region concluded that $274,916 in backpay and per diem were due, with daily compound interest through January 31, 2012 adding $48,200. The records also established that the job for which the employees were hired had concluded in May 2008 and the discriminatees were therefore not entitled to reinstatement. The settlement was made possible by the hard work of Region 16 trial attorney Jamal Allen, Compliance Officer Charlene Donovan and Compliance Assistant Tracy Williams-Fisher."