Hearing Called on Questions Raised Over Quake Repair Law

Federal and local officials called on the Los Angeles Housing Department on Tuesday to explain why most contractors who violated labor laws by underpaying their workers on earthquake repair jobs have not been prosecuted.

A Times article reported Sunday that housing officials uncovered numerous cases of contractors failing to pay prevailing wages for federally funded repair work, but no cases were turned over for prosecution.

Officials in the city attorney’s office, meanwhile, have insisted that laws were broken in some cases and have asked that the most egregious examples be turned over to them.

Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr., chairman of the council’s Housing and Community Redevelopment Committee, said he will call on housing officials to appear before his panel next week to explain how they enforced wage laws on contractors who received public funds.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funded the city’s $300-million earthquake repair loan program, Tuesday also asked city housing officials to explain how they monitored contractors to ensure they complied with labor laws.