Worker Wellness Blog
Date Posted: May 5, 2026
Posted In: Discussion, Workforce,
by Dr. John Gaal
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness blog takes a look at the important link between sleep and jobsite safety; to the pros and cons of YouTube in your kids’ K-12 classrooms; to a look at May Day events near and far.
Focal Point: This week, I included a couple of articles discussing wage theft and worker misclassifications. These are not new terms—especially in the world of construction. Wage theft involves not paying workers what they rightfully earned.[1]
This can take on a number of forms from stealing tips to denying breaks to unpaid overtime, etc. In fact, worker misclassification is another example of wage theft. To this end, worker misclassification often involves identifying an employee as an independent contractor or a higher skilled worker as a lesser skilled worker or paying workers ‘off the books’, in other words, in cash.
The Construction Dive article linked below goes one step farther by connecting this illegal tactic to competitive imbalance.[2] For several years now, unions have raised the issue of how both of these aforementioned tactics skim taxes due to the state and local treasuries.
More recently, contractors have entered this space of encouraging local, state, and federal authorities in pursuing proper legal civil and criminal actions against these unscrupulous businesses. After all, those non-payments place an undue burden on appropriately maintaining/upgrading our currently underfunded roads, bridges, and schools. More importantly, in my opinion, these nefarious acts place our workers in peril when it comes to jobsite (physical & mental) safety.
Contractors that cut corners to save money by cheating the system are unlikely to place worker safety as priority #1. In order for contractors to submit competitive bids they must be assured there is a level playing field!
Sources:
[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/construction-contractors-back-pay-settlement/#
Additional Links to Check Out
Change: Suicide Rates in the USA
Construction: Safety & New Workers
HR: The Cost of Mental Illness
CDC Vax Delay: Hep B & Infants
Acceptance & Emotional Suffering
Worker Misclassification = Competitive Imbalance
Women: Construction & Apprenticeships
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
Construction: Role of AED & CPR (5/13)
Breaking Stigma: MH in the Workplace (5/20)
MSPN: Suicide Prevention Conference (7/9)
NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact Dr. John Gaal, Chief Learning Officer, at stlbtwc@gmail.com with related questions or comments.