School officials probe drywall company

Terry Webster

Wednesday, May 24, 2000 | 11 a.m.

Looking and sounding more like a court hearing than a School Board meeting, a three-hour debate on firing a school construction subcontractor ended in a stalemate Tuesday.

Clark County School District officials pledged to keep close tabs on Jetstream Construction, however, a local drywall installation business facing allegations of improper labor practices, including forcing kickbacks from workers.

School staffers also agreed to keep the School Board updated on findings produced by several agencies reportedly investigating Jetstream.

Staff members and the district's legal team Tuesday advised the School Board to not take action now. With three members absent, the School Board voted 3-1 vote to monitor Jetstream pending the outcome of the investigations.

Board member Larry Mason cast the negative vote, stating he wanted to see Jetstream immediately removed. Gail Maxwell, chief investigator of the Office of the Labor Commission, said Jetstream representatives failed to provide her office with documents it requested, including time cards, payroll records, daily reports, original canceled checks, general ledger, accounts payable and job cost reports.

On May 10 the Labor Commission filed papers in the Eighth Judicial District Court asking Jetstream to show just cause for why it should not be held in contempt of court for refusing to comply with a summons. The court papers cite complaints of kickbacks and "backing in hours."

Kickbacks are when employees are required to pay back money to the employer. Backing in hours involves paying employees a prevailing rate, but recording fewer hours than what were actually worked.

For example, if an employee worked 8 hours at $12.50 an hour, only four hours of work time would be recorded. Maxwell said her investigation should be completed in July.

Based on construction schedules, Jetstream is not expected to perform any work in the district before July. For the past several months, the Nevada Carpenters Union and the Las Vegas Interfaith Council for Worker Justice have claimed Jetstream requires Hispanic workers to pay kickbacks to keep their jobs and denies them the right to earn prevailing wages.

The two groups gave input to the district when it designed its public works contractor criteria. Under the criteria, financial ability and the principal personnel are examined. The criteria further requires there be no prior breach of contract nor any prior disqualification for contract awards.

Daniel O'Shea, union senior business representative, claimed Jetstream is under investigation on multiple violations, including a federal offense and extortion.

Union representatives gave the School Board a packet of information that included a cassette tape, letters, employee work logs and notarized statements by employees.

The group maintains Jetstream is being investigated by the FBI, U.S. Department of Labor, National Labor Relations Board, Nevada Attorney General's Office and the Nevada State Contractors Board. Jetstream attorneys deny the allegations and said the School Board is not a proper forum for debate.