My husband is working on an air force base job for a company in Arizona. He was told his hourly wage would be prevailing wage at a specific wage. Two weeks after he was on the job the owner of the company told the crew the day before direct deposits were to go into their accounts that he underbid the job and their hourly rate would be decreased by $8.00 an hour. All the guys were really upset. After a few days of being told of the wage decrease they were told that the payroll is a certified payroll through the government and the owner is required to pay them the prevailing wage which is the higher amount they started with. The owner was told he had to back pay his employees and he would not get a draw on his bid until he paid them and then the government would reimburse him. So now his hands are tied and has to pay (supposedly). Well it has now been 5 weeks and not only has the company not paid out the back pay but has not increased their hourly rate back up the extra $8.00 an hour. Is this legal for him to do? Is there any recourse my husband and the crew can take against him?
Also, when they signed the direct deposit forms it said on there that the employee agrees that the employer can take out any money that was deposited in error. So as the guys try and push the issue of the salary he tells them they are lucky he hasn't gone into their accounts and taken out the money he overpaid them the first two weeks they were on the job. But it wasn't an over payment, it was the correct prevailing wage for the type of work they do in Arizona. This guy is a jerk, but wanted to know if he can do this or not. he owes back pay of around $1800.00 per guy up to now and climbing.
Thanks for any input!