Montco Company Owes $1.1 Million In Pay To Pipeline Workers: Feds

BLUE BELL, PA — A Montgomery County business operating in several states was ordered to pay more than $1 million in back wages and damages after they violated federal law by underpaying hundreds of workers.

Henkels and McCoy, headquartered on Jolly Road in Blue Bell, failed to pay $542,915 in overtime pay to 362 oil pipeline workers at 11 different worksites around the country, federal prosecutors and officials with the U.S. Department of Labor announced. The

“Hard-working employees in the construction industry deserve to be paid every cent they have earned,” Wage and Hour Division Principal Deputy Administrator Jessica Looman said in a statement.

Employees averaged 60-hour work weeks, and were often not paid for anything over 40 hours, officials said.

The company also paid workers daily lump sums, and then did not include the payments when calculating their overtime rates, according to authorities.

Finally, investigators said they failed to keep accurate records of employee travel and other expenses racked up by workers while performing their jobs, including the use of personal vehicles for work purposes.

Employees at pipeline worksites in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Georgia, New York, and West Virginia were impacted.

In addition to the $542,915 in backpay they owed to begin with, the company was also ordered to pay workers in equal amount in damages.