Cybersecurity Workers to Receive $1.18M Unpaid Overtime Settlement

A cybersecurity company and two subcontractors have agreed to a $1.18 million unpaid overtime settlement with 236 employees in Huntsville, Ala.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced the unpaid overtime settlement. in March 2017. ManTech International Corp. and subcontractors Systems Development Corp. and Bevilacqua Research Corp. were accused of failing to pay employees the appropriate compensation for overtime while the employees performed work on a government contract.

The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division said cybersecurity company ManTech and the two subcontractors violated the Service Contract Act, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Kenneth Stripling, director of the DOL’s Birmingham wage and hour division issued a statement that reads, “No contractor should gain an economic advantage by paying workers below the wages and fringe benefits required on a prevailing wage contract. Not only does this practice undercut what the workers involved are legally owed, it results in unfair competition for contractors who play by the rules.”

The DOL alleges the subcontractors failed to accurately record the overtime hours accrued by each employee. DOL also found that the companies provided pay and benefits that were less than the law requires.

The DOL also said that according to the Service Contract Act, any company that conducts work on contracts valued at more than $2,500 have to pay prevailing wage rates from a preceding contractor’s collective bargaining agreement. The unpaid overtime settlement agreement will provide benefits for 236 employees allegedly owed unpaid wages.

According to WAFF, ManTech Executive Director of External Communications James B. Crawford said in a statement, “Contrary to the Department of Labor press release, ManTech did not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Service Contract Act (SCA), or the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA). The U.S. Government initially determined that ManTech was not required to pay SCA wages and benefits under the contract. The Government later changed its mind, and modified ManTech’s contract to add that requirement. In response to that new direction from the Government, ManTech adjusted the compensation owed to the employees.”

According to ManTech’s website, the company provides cybersecurity, IT assistance, data collection and analytics, and systems and software engineering. ManTech currently serves 66 federal agencies and has been in the business for 50 years. In 2017, ManTech was awarded contracts worth $4.2 billion.

Systems Development Corp., one of the subcontractors in the unpaid overtime settlement, provides systems engineering services to the federal government. Started in 1990, Systems Development Corp. is an Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business that has provided support to the Department of Defense, NASA, GSA and other federal agencies as either a primary contractor or as a subcontractor.

Bevilacqua Research Corporation is the other subcontractor in the unpaid overtime settlement and is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business that has provided technical assistance to government entities since 1992. The Department of Defense and NASA are among Bevilacqua’s customers.