A Florida painting contractor has agreed to pay the federal government $338,000 to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging the underpayment of workers who helped rehabilitate the Andy Warhol Bridge in 2016.
Southern Road & Bridge LLC, of Tarpon Springs, agreed to the settlement after a lawsuit was filed claiming the company had used undocumented workers who had been misclassified to pay them less than the prevailing wage rate during bridge work, which the contract required. The whistleblower lawsuit was filed by attorney and former Allegheny County Councilman Edward J. Kress and Carnegie-based International Union of Painters & Allied Trades District Council 57.
Mr. Kress served as a Republican member of County Council from 2014 to 2017.
“When a contractor is not following the contract specifications, it makes it harder for an honest contractor to get that job,” Mr. Kress said. “It’s not just union members — you want to make sure everyone its being treated fairly. I want to make sure we look after people.”
The whistleblowers were represented by Andrew M. Stone, of Stone Law Firm LLC, and Don McKenna of Farris, Riley & Pitt LP, of Birmingham, Ala. The False Claims Act allows citizens to file lawsuits against individuals, businesses and others who’ve defrauded the federal government.
The whistleblowers and their attorneys receive a percentage of the amount of money recovered.
The lawsuit was filed under seal in the U.S. District Court for the Western District in Pittsburgh in 2019 and it was unsealed in September after the federal government intervened to help reach a settlement. According to the lawsuit, SRB hired undocumented workers and misclassified them to be able to pay them less than the required prevailing wage rates.
Saxonburg-based Brayman Construction Corp. won the $25.4 million contract to upgrade the Warhol Bridge and SRB received $8.83 million for the painting. Of the total contract, the U.S. Department of Transportation contributed $20.3 million; the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, $3.8 million; and Allegheny County, $1.2 million.
The Warhol, which opened in 1927, is one of the Three Sisters Bridges connecting Downtown with the North Shore.
“This is a great example of how unions and private citizens can partner with our government to hold companies accountable for fraud against taxpayers and in protecting American workers,” Mr. Stone said in a prepared statement.
First Published: March 20, 2025, 8:35 p.m.
Updated: March 21, 2025, 12:40 p.m.
