Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether construction workers assigned to projects at O’Hare International Airport were required to spend unpaid time traveling between contractor-designated parking areas and their assigned worksites.
Public information identifies Lot J as a contractor parking area and indicates that contractors are responsible for transporting workers between the lot and construction areas. Workers may be entitled to compensation if they were required to report to a designated parking location, wait for employer-controlled transportation, pass through security or access procedures, and ride a mandatory shuttle before reaching the location where paid time began.
What Workers Report
Construction workers report:
- Being instructed to park in a contractor-designated lot rather than near the assigned worksite.
- Waiting for a contractor-operated or contractor-arranged shuttle.
- Being unable to choose another practical method of reaching the worksite.
- Riding buses or vans through controlled O’Hare International Airport areas before reaching the jobsite.
- Passing through security, badging, gate, or access procedures before beginning paid work.
- Spending substantial time traveling between the parking lot and worksite before and after each shift.
- Receiving no wages for the waiting, shuttle, or controlled access time.
- Having the same transportation arrangement apply to large groups of workers.
- Losing additional time when shuttles were delayed, crowded, or required multiple stops.
Why Workers Should Be Concerned
Construction at a major airport often involves restricted worksites, remote parking, security controls, and transportation systems established by project contractors. When workers must report to a specific contractor-controlled location and use required transportation to reach the actual work area, that time may differ from an ordinary commute.
Workers may have been under the contractor’s control while waiting for and riding the shuttle. They may have been prohibited from driving directly to the worksite, leaving the designated route as the only practical means of reporting for duty. If the transportation occurred after workers reached a required reporting point, the time may be compensable under applicable wage laws.
The potential unpaid time can become significant. Even 20 to 40 minutes of uncompensated travel before and after each shift may amount to several unpaid hours each week. Over months or years of airport construction, the resulting unpaid wages and overtime may be substantial.
This investigation seeks to determine which contractors and subcontractors required remote parking and mandatory transportation, where workers were instructed to report, when paid time began and ended, and whether the same policies applied across particular project packages, trades, or shifts.
Potential Claims May Include
- Failure to pay wages for compensable time
- Failure to pay overtime
- Illinois Minimum Wage Law violations
- Fair Labor Standards Act violations
- Recordkeeping violations
- Unjust enrichment
- Wage-payment law violations
Signs You May Be Affected
You may be affected if:
- You performed construction work at O’Hare International Airport.
- You were instructed to park in Lot J or another remote contractor parking area.
- You were required to use a bus, van, or shuttle to reach your assigned worksite.
- You waited for transportation before your paid shift began.
- You passed through security or controlled airport access before reaching the worksite.
- Your employer did not pay you for shuttle, waiting, or access time.
- The unpaid time caused you to work more than 40 hours without receiving all overtime due.
- You worked for a prime contractor, subcontractor, joint venture, staffing company, or trade contractor at O’Hare.
If you have encountered these issues, we would like to hear from you. Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or give us a call at (202) 470-3520.