On November 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported that it recovered more than $1.4 million for 36 Mexican engineers working for National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a San Diego subsidiary of General Dynamics. The engineers came to the U.S. through the L-1B visa program, but NASSCO paid them in Mexican pesos at rates below U.S. minimum wage, even though they were working in the U.S. They also worked over 42 hours a week without getting the proper overtime pay.
Investigators found that NASSCO wrongly counted travel and lodging expenses as part of the workers' wages and failed to keep proper records. As a result, the company owed $719,135 in unpaid wages — and had to pay the same amount again in damages, for a total of over $1.4 million.
Min Park-Chung, the Wage and Hour Division Director in San Diego, said that workers from other countries have the same rights under U.S. labor laws. She also said the Department works closely with the Mexican Consulate to educate workers about their rights. Besides paying the money owed, NASSCO agreed to an enhanced compliance agreement, promising better training and stronger protections for workers with visas.
General Dynamics, the parent company of NASSCO, is one of the largest defense contractors in the world, earning over $42 billion in 2023.