Contractor Forced To Pay Thousands In Back Pay To Workers Who Cleaned Coney Island Hospital

Workers who were contracted to clean up three New York hospitals, including Coney Island Hospital (2601 Ocean Parkway) received thousands of dollars in back wages, after their employer initially stiffed them. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Signal Restoration Services, a Michigan-based company, underpaid workers toiling in New York City hospitals post-Sandy.

Signal Restoration Services is said to have paid their 500 employees $12-$15 an hour, compared to the prevailing wage of $16.99 an hour and $25.49 an hour for overtime. The Journal described the terms of the settlement:

The Troy, Mich.-based company that contracted to clean up Bellevue Hospital, Coney Island Hospital and Coler-Goldwater Memorial Hospital in New York City has agreed to pay $466,000 in back wages, $25,000 to the attorney general’s office and $46,000 into an escrow account. The agreement was signed this week.

Good news. Those workers, as well as the staff of Coney Island Hospital in general, had a heck of a job to do after Superstorm Sandy flooded the facility and left Southern Brooklyn’s only major medical center out-of-order. Their work helped get the hospital back online as quick as it did, and they deserve the money they earned.