Vista

A federal judge prohibited the two owners of a Vista painting firm and its foreman from contracting any government projects for five years because they short-changed 86 employees on a Camp Pendleton painting project.

The owners--Ralph Charles Meredith, 66, of Vista, and Herman M. Worley, 71, of Monterey--and foreman Tommy Lee Franklin, 54, of Oceanside, also were placed on probation for five years.

In addition, U.S. District Judge Judith M. Keep on Monday fined Meredith-Worley Inc. $2,000, saying she realized “that probably means $1,000 for Mr. Meredith and $1,000 for Mr. Worley.”

Their attorney, Kevin Croswell, of Fallbrook, said the U.S. Department of Labor has determined that the probation department’s recommended restitution of $253,950 is excessive. Croswell said the government has withheld total payments to the company of $254,000, which should be more than enough to pay the balance owed the workers under the “prevailing wage” Davis Bacon Act.

Meredith-Worley Inc. was one of nine county companies charged Feb. 4 with underpaying its workers, and was the largest firm so charged. Each defendant and the corporation pleaded guilty Feb. 26 to one count of falsifying government records to indicate Meredith-Worley employees had been paid $21.63 per hour at the time, instead of the $8 to $10 per hour the workers actually were paid.

The company went out of business last year.