Shepherd's Co. ; Unfair Harassment

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Shepherd's Co. is a communal religious partnership of more than 60 members who perform a variety of crafts and business services, including many in the construction trades. For a number of years the company has done work on public projects requiring payment of "prevailing wages" under state and federal law.

But recently, after the partnership's successful bid for work on the University of Missouri Bradford Technology and Transfer Center, Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 36 business manager Curtis Chick Jr. accused Shepherd's Co. of taking work from his members by violating the prevailing wage law. The state Division of Labor Standards, under recently appointed director and …