Construction workers in West Campus apartment complexes allege mistreatment, unpaid wages

Of the three West Campus apartment complexes that opened to more than 1,000 students this fall, at least two were built by construction workers who claimed they were mistreated.

Documents obtained from the City of Austin show complaints have been filed against the contractors who oversaw construction of 2400 Nueces and The Callaway House for lack of rest and water breaks for construction workers. Workers Defense Project, a nonprofit that strives to represent mistreated workers in Texas, has also taken legal action against owners of The Callaway House twice this year after learning of unpaid wages for construction workers who worked on the private off-campus dorm.

The City of Austin received a complaint, regarding breaks, against the construction project at the 2400 Nueces site. Construction workers who built the property have claimed they were not given rest or water breaks during day-long shifts of work. While Texas does not require breaks at the state level, a City of Austin ordinance requires a 10-minute rest break for every four hours on the job. A construction worker, who worked on 2400 Nueces and spoke to The Daily Texan on the condition of anonymity, said he was mistreated in several ways while working on the project.

Despite the conditions and not receiving overtime pay, the worker said he could not quit because he had to provide for his family and the work at 2400 Nueces was the only job he could get at the time.

Hensel Phelps, the general contractor for the project, did not return a request for comment, but city records show an inspector visited the site in response to the complaint filed in July 2012 and took pictures of rest stations, water coolers and the required city-issued signage about the policy. The land 2400 Nueces was built on is leased by UT to a private college student housing developer.

Around the same time the rest breaks complaint was filed, a construction worker at 2400 Nueces fell from the sixth floor injuring himself and the two other workers he fell on. They were all treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

The worker interviewed by The Daily Texan — who was not one of the workers who fell — said he and other construction workers were not given any kind of health insurance or compensation while working on the site.

Greg Casar, a business liaison representative for Workers Defense Project, compared Texas’ construction industry to doping in sports.

“When it is so competitive, and there is really no enforcement or oversight, then it creates an incentive for everybody to cheat,” Casar said.

Texas is one of the nation’s most robust states for construction, with more than 950,000 construction workers in the state, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Accompanying this massive amount of construction work is limited state government oversight and regulation. Unlike California and other states with large construction industries, Texas does not require breaks for workers or compensation for on-the-job injuries. The state also has no task force in place to monitor workplace fraud.

The allegations made by workers in West Campus are consistent with statewide worker mistreatment issues discussed in a report by UT.

Earlier this year, UT faculty — in partnership with Workers Defense Project and faculty from the University of Illinois at Chicago — released Build a Better Texas, a report that examined the construction industry in Texas. The report found 39 percent of workers surveyed said they did not receive rest breaks. Another issue many construction workers face is misclassification as contractors, because of which workers are often not paid for overtime, forced to supply their own safety equipment and are not given insurance.

Workers Defense Project alleges this occurs at most private construction projects like 2400 Nueces.

“The idea is you are completely on your own,” Casar said. “It totally severs any level of responsibility anybody has to that worker.”

Worker misclassification, or workplace fraud, is illegal nationwide but the way individual states handle and investigate these instances varies greatly. About 41 percent of workers surveyed said they were victims of workplace fraud, according to Build a Better Texas.

Further complicating the situation is the distant relationship between general contractors and construction workers, who are often hired and supervised by subcontractors.

“It’s not the general contractors that are cheating,” Casar said. “They have a direct working relationship at the developer level, and aren’t overseeing the labor at any phase. If you just build a building, and don’t ask questions, that’s what you get.”

In July, Workers Defense Project filed a lien — a legal maneuver that prevents the owners from selling the property and could lead to further legal action — against American Campus Communities, the owner of The Callaway House, after construction workers who worked on the project claimed $36,800 in unpaid wages. Earlier this week, The Callaway House’s general contractor, Harvey-Cleary, promised to pay the unpaid wages following the lien.

This is the second time Workers Defense Project has successfully advocated for unpaid workers against the owners of The Callaway House. In April, workers won a claim of more than $24,000 in unpaid wages.

Gina Cowart, vice president of investor relations and corporate marketing at American Campus Communities, said the company had instructed Harvey-Cleary to pay the workers for the full amount of unpaid wages. American Campus Communities is “rigorous” in paying its contractors and service providers, Cowart said.

“We do not believe we have been accurately portrayed by Workers Defense Project communications,” Cowart said in a statement. “However, we do respect the role they played in bringing the matter to our attention to foster resolution.”

Almost a quarter of construction workers surveyed by Build a Better Texas reported they had previously been denied wages.

The documents obtained from the city also revealed a complaint filed in May against The Callaway House construction project for violating the ordinance that requires rest breaks on construction sites.

City records show an inspector visited the site after the complaint and found the required city-issued signage about the policy was posted at the site. The inspector also reminded the management of the ordinance.

Harvey-Cleary did not return a request for comment.

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Source: Daily Texan (Blanchard, 9/06)

State Farm paid over $109 million last year for dog-bite claims

Dog bites man does not get a lot of attention in the news, but it costs insurance companies hundreds of millions in claims every year.

State Farm Insurance, one of the nation's largest home insurers, paid more than $109 million on about 3,800 dog bite claims nationwide last year, spokesman Eddie Martinez said Wednesday. In 2010, there were about 3,500 claims and $90 million in payouts.

The Insurance Information Institute estimated that nearly $479 million in dog bite claims were paid by all insurance companies in 2011, spokeswoman Loretta Worters said. In 2010, it was $413 million.

It's no surprise that California — home to more dogs and people than any other state — led the way in 2011.

Martinez says 527 claims were filed in California and victims received $20.3 million, a jump of 31 percent over 2010.

State Farm is still working to determine reasons for the spike, Martinez said.

About 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year and more than half of the victims are children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. About 800,000 people seek medical attention for the bites. Less than half of those people require treatment and about 16 die, the agency said.

After children ages 5 to 9 years old, the agency said that seniors represent the largest group at risk, followed by letter carriers.

Nationally, about 5,600 U.S. Postal Service letter carriers were attacked by dogs each of the last two years, said Los Angeles spokesman Richard Maher.

In California, a carrier was attacked in March and died of complications four days later after she suffered a stroke likely caused by trauma, Maher said.

Los Angeles carriers recorded the most bites with 83; San Diego was second with 68; followed by Houston at 47; and Cleveland at 44.

Medical expenses from dog attacks cost the Postal Service just over $1 million last year, officials said.

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The third full week each May is National Dog Bite Prevention Week and State Farm, the U.S. Postal Service, the American Veterinary Medical Association and CDCP release dog bite statistics and launch campaigns to promote dog safety.

Despite the large number of attacks on letter carriers, the Postal Service decided to focus on children for their campaign because a child is 900 times more likely to be attacked than a letter carrier, Maher said.

Heredity, training, socialization, health, and the behavior of humans around it can all contribute to a dog's tendency to bite, Martinez said.

The ASPCA predicts half of all children in the United States will be bitten by a dog before 12. The majority of bites will be from the family dog or the dog of a neighbor or friend.

People across the country own about 78.2 million dogs, according to the American Pet Products Association.

State Farm's figures listed the top 10 states by number of claims, claims paid and claim average.

California was tops in the first two categories, then came Illinois, 309 claims, $10 million; Texas, 219 claims, $5.1 million; and Ohio, 215, $5.4 million.

At the bottom of the claims per state list were Maine, New Mexico, Montana, Hawaii and South Dakota, Martinez said.

The average cost per claim nationally in 2011 was $28,799, Martinez said.

California had a per-claim average of $38,500 but New York came in first because the company paid an average of $45,900 per claim there. Michigan was second with an average $38,700 per claim.

In 2010, California led the way with 369 claims and total payouts of $11.3 million. But the average cost per claim in the state was $30,000, placing it second behind Florida, where the average cost per dog bite claim was $38,400. Florida had 146 claims for a total of $5.6 million.

There are ways to help a child avoid dog bites, the ASPCA says.

A youngster should never stare into a dog's eyes, tease a dog, approach a chained dog, touch an off-leash dog, run or scream if approached by a loose dog, play with a dog while it is eating or touch a dog while it is sleeping. If a loose dog comes close, children should stand very still and be very quiet. Always ask a dog's owner for permission to pet it and let the dog sniff your closed hand before you start touching it.

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source: Associated Press (5/17)




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Many Texas highways will soon get 75-mph speed limit

Good news for Texas leadfoots:

The speed limit will soon rise from 70 to 75 mph on nearly 1,500 miles of highway. The new limit was approved Thursday by the Texas Transportation Commission after studies on the roads determined that the change would be safe.

For Fort Worth-area motorists, the changes affect only out-of-town trips. For example, on a trip to Austin, drivers can save a few minutes by driving 75 mph on Interstate 35 south of Hillsboro. Same goes for those traveling to Abilene. They can go 75 mph on I-20 west of Weatherford.

But before you put the pedal to the metal, wait until you actually see the new speed limit signs, which will be posted in the coming days or weeks.

"The new speed limit is not official until the signs go up," warned Carol Rawson, Texas Department of Transportation traffic operations director.

Where will the new speed limits be?

I-10: 289 miles, El Paso, Gillespie, Kerr, Kendall, Bexar, Guadalupe, Caldwell, Gonzales, Fayette, Colorado, Austin, Jefferson and Orange counties.

I-20: 423 miles, Crane, Ector, Midland, Martin, Howard, Mitchell, Nolan, Taylor, Callahan, Eastland, Erath, Palo Pinto, Van Zandt, Smith, Gregg and Harrison counties.

I-27: 109 miles, Lubbock, Hale, Swisher and Randall counties.

I-30: 139 miles, Hunt, Hopkins, Franklin, Titus, Morris and Bowie counties.

I-35: 106 miles, Webb, Medina, Atascosa, Bexar, Hill and Cooke counties.

I-37: 130 miles, Nueces, San Patricio, Live Oak, Atascosa and Bexar counties.

I-40: 166 miles, Deaf Smith, Oldham, Potter, Carson, Gray, Donley and Wheeler counties.

I-44: 11 miles, Wichita County.

I-45: 143 miles, Walker, Madison, Leon, Freestone and Navarro counties.

Four other highways in Central Texas got the new speed limit late last year, all in the Austin area -- I-35 from Georgetown to Salado, and Texas 130, Texas 45 and U.S. 281 -- and a number of roads have had it for several years. Once the signs are up, Texas will have 3,063 miles of highway with a 75-mph limit.

And, of course, Texas is famous (safety advocates might say infamous) for its 80-mph limit on 521 miles of I-10 and I-20 in far West Texas.

That's a grand total of 3,584 miles where drivers can go 75 mph or faster.

While the higher threshold may be fun for speed freaks, state officials caution that being allowed to go fast doesn't necessarily mean you should.

But for those who feel comfortable driving 75 mph, tests conducted by state engineers have concluded that the roads are designed for that speed and that under current conditions the overwhelming majority of traffic is already going that fast -- illegally, for now.

"People should know we didn't make these decisions in a vacuum," said Texas Transportation Commissioner Bill Meadows of Fort Worth.

For the complete run-down, view here.

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source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (Dickson, 1/26)