California subcontractor ordered to pay $12M for wage theft

A construction subcontractor has been ordered to pay nearly $12 million for allegedly cheating more than 1,000 Southern California workers out of minimum wage, overtime and rest breaks.

The state's labor commissioner said RDV Construction violated workers' rights on 35 construction sites across Los Angeles. Regulators call it California's largest wage-theft case involving private construction.

Officials say workers hired by the drywall subcontractor were paid with checks that bounced and waited months to be reimbursed, only to receive less than what they were owed.

RDV officials didn't respond to messages from the Los Angeles Times seeking comment. But a labor commissioner spokesman tells the newspaper that RDV has appealed the citation.