The US Department of Labor said Nov. 19 it recovered more than $1.4 million for 36 Mexican engineers employed in San Diego by a subsidiary of General Dynamics, one of the world’s largest defense contractors, that paid them in Mexican pesos below the federal minimum wage rate in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found National Steel and Shipbuilding, or Nassco — one of three shipyards in the Marine Systems group of General Dynamics that designs and builds auxiliary and support ships for the US Navy — used the L-1B visa program to bring the workers to San Diego from a General Dynamics subsidiary in Mexicali, Mexico, to install power plants, engines and machinery; complete structures; and finish and furnish ships’ interiors.

The L-1B visa program enables employers to transfer professional employees with specialized knowledge from one of their affiliated foreign offices to their US offices.

Nassco paid the engineers in pesos at Mexican pay rates to work an average of 42 hours or more weekly, the department reported. They also determined the employer wrongfully treated the traveling workers’ per diem and lodging costs as wages and did not maintain accurate time records for them. Investigators found that Nassco owed the 36 engineers $719,135 in unpaid minimum and overtime wages, plus an equal amount in liquidated damages.

“General Dynamics Nassco brought these specialized workers from Mexico to San Diego to build vessels for the US Navy but failed to follow the federal wage regulations that protect anyone working in the US,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Min Park-Chung in San Diego. “The Wage and Hour Division works closely with the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego to educate Mexican nationals about their rights as workers in the US and ensure those who employ them understand and comply with the law.”

In addition to paying the engineers their back wages and damages, Nassco signed an enhanced compliance agreement that bars it from future federal labor law violations and requires it to train employees who manage and supervise foreign workers with non-immigrant visas. Nassco must provide notice to employees of their rights under FLSA and the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act.