Complaint Review: PDI Construction

CLAIMANT RESPONSE TO WAGE CLAIM NO. 0910-1760       I was interviewed and accepted a job offer at Paramount Designs, Inc. (PDI) on January 29th, 2009. I signed employment papers February 5th, 2009 and started work on February 9th, 2009 as a subsurface utility engineering (SUE) Coordinator.

 In my initial interview on January 29th, 2009 I was hired to do a sixty mile GIS Survey of pull boxes for ADOT and Ed Campbell wanted me to help bid an upcoming SUE contract with SRP. In the same interview Ed Campbell stated I would get a company truck to use if I got the SRP contract to include driving to and from work. On or about March 17th, 2009 SRP announced we got the contract with a start date of May 1st,2009. Around the end of April, I was given a company truck to start using to commute back and forth to work and for checking on the jobs in the field. I started using the company truck on May 1st,2009 until Noel May took the truck away and gave it to John Kavanaugh (602 387-0100) to commute back and forth from home to work and to his traffic barricade jobs in the field with. I was told by Ed Campbell in a meeting that I would be paid back for additional travel expense once the financial crisis passed. I was then given the truck back on June 5th, 2009 only to have it taken away again by Noel May on June 9th, 2009 and given to Luke Lenard (602 814-7359) to commute back and forth to different work sites from home. On August 11th, 2009 Ed Campbell called me after he heard that I was considering leaving PDI because of the low pay scale and the breach of the agreement with regard to having a company truck. Ed stated over the phone I would be given a pay increase and even though money was tight and most employees had to take pay cuts I would be given a company truck since the SUE division was doing so well. On August 31st, 2009 I was given a company truck again and switched from hourly to salary.

  The truck was taken again on September 15th, 2009 and given to Luke Lenard. I was told by Noel May and by Tony Pickering (602 281-0599 or 602 402-1699) I would be next to get a company truck when one became available.      Ed Campbell is not telling you the complete truth with regard to my job title and how I was terminated from PDI. In June of 2009 Ed Campbell changed my job title from SUE Project Coordinator to SUE Project Manager as you can see from a resume PDI made up on me May 20th, 2009 to submit to Southwest Gas Supervisors Greg Cooper (602) 484-5276 and Preston Ford (602)484-5355 for a on-call bid. PDI also sent this resume to Zane Allen at AT&T on August 12th, 2009. PDI forged my resume to include experience with Sundt Projects as you can see in the resume which is false. I have never done work for Sundt and perhaps PDI should supply you the resume I submitted in January 2009 for comparison. 

I had submitted a letter of resignation to Chuck Campbell (president) January 28th, 2009 after having several SRP foremen ask me if PDI wasnt paying its employees for travel time even though PDI is billing SRP $145 per hour for two men in a vac truck to include travel time portal to portal and since I was not getting reimbursed for my mileage to and from work.

 On January 29th, 2010 I was terminated yet PDI claimed I voluntary quit. After several inquiries PDI admitted in an email to Dana Clark at Strunk Insurance 14425 N.7st suite 102 Phoenix, AZ (602)978-4414 that I had in fact been terminated and did qualify for cobra assistance from PDI.  

 PDI has eleven people in company vehicles that take them home including Chuck Campbell, Randy Peck(602)515-8448, Bobby Brown(602)702-9983, Noel May, Luke Lenard, John Kavanaugh, Ed Campbell, Troy Gronsky, Daniel Orozco(602)515-8446, Jim Weimer (602)405-6975 and Courtnie Hartwigsen (623)293-6770. If PDI had extra trucks laying around as Ed Campbell stated in his response I wouldnt have had to borrow Courtnie Hartwigsen or Steve Andersons (602)910-8800 company truck to run errands when I didnt have my truck with me. The chief mechanic Tony Pickering (602)281-0599 has to use his own personal vehicle to run errands for the company. The only reason I couldnt claim all of my mileage driving to and from work on my last time sheet is because I wasnt allowed to fill out a proper time sheet. I was fired at 5:00 am in the parking lot of PDI and some sort of paid time off-taken form was used by PDI for me to fill out as a time sheet. Look at my last time sheet and compare it to all my previous ones. My 2009 day planner was at home the morning of January 29th, 2009 which is what I keep track of my mileage in.      I lived at 1020 W. Ross Ave Phoenix, AZ and a trip to the office was just over 45 miles round trip. I made well over 150 documented round trips and at 45 miles per trip comes out to over 6750 miles. The twenty five hundred dollars Im requesting is far under what Im entitled to under the applicable mileage rate set by the IRS. On February 1st, 2010 PDI started paying its employees for travel time only after I blew the whistle on them not paying employees for travel to SRP. PDI has since gone back to not paying for travel time on all projects except SRP work.

Mr. Campbell stated in his conclusion that its not relevant if in fact PDI engaged in any wrongdoing to support my claim. I argue that it is relevant that PDI has cheated Employees out of billable hours since June 0f 2009 and that they changed their policy once I told SRP (Sharon Boardman 602 236-4890) what PDI was doing. I request that the Labor Department contact everybody I have mentioned to confirm what I have said including the following list of potholers who have been cheated out of back pay and can vouch for what I have said regarding the company truck issue. PDI uses threats of being fired if people were to complain or talk to anybody about not getting back pay but PDI cant keep everybody quiet if everybody is contacted. PDIs biggest concern is if every employee who worked on SRP projects were to find out that the contract paid for travel time and if they were to file with the Department of Labor to recover the more than twenty thousand dollars in unpaid travel, PDI would be forced to pay the employees.  Armondo  Flores (602) 304-9422 (602) 410-1765Charlie Gonzalez (602) 400-2963 (623) 236-9053Alfonso Romero (602)718-4912 (602)410-4313Larry Stiles (602)272-1868 (623)206-2756Keith Fitch (623)986-8666 (623)780-4061 (602)628-4520Edward Conde (480)299-8758Dated this 29th day of March, 2010                                                                                             Dennis J Mead