Dive Brief:

• Under an agreement announced Tuesday by federal officials, contractors will have to pay $3.8 million in back wages to 200 workers who did not get prevailing rates on a project in Manhattan's Lower East Side.
• Federal money helped pay for the Grand Street Guild rehabilitation of three 26-story residential buildings. MDG Design & Construction LLC and other companies ran into trouble with the U.S. Department of Labor, which said they underpaid subcontractors' workers and filed inaccurate or bogus time reports.
• There already was a $1.1 million settlement covering 300 laborers and mechanics for subcontractors, bringing the total penalty to $4.9 million.

Dive Insight:

MDG, which specializes in housing rehabilitation and construction, will have a federal monitor looking over its shoulder for three years, too, according to the agreement. The other companies covered in the settlement are Charis Consulting LLC and Kona Contracting LLC. It also includes Michael Rooney and Nicola DeAcetis, who are owners of all three companies, and Neys Escobar, who is an owner of Kona Contracting.