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OLR Bill Analysis
SB 418 (File 253, as amended by Senate "A")*
AN ACT CONCERNING WAGE THEFT.
SUMMARY
This bill changes the penalties for prevailing wage job contractors and
subcontractors that knowingly or willfully fail to pay their workers the
required prevailing wage (see BACKGROUND). It requires the labor
commissioner to issue a citation to these violators and allows her to
impose a $5,000 fine for each violation. Current law requires her to issue
fines ranging from $2,500 to $5,000.
The bill also changes the penalties that prohibit (debar) a contractor
or subcontractor that violated the prevailing wage law from contracting
with the state or its municipalities. Generally, it (1) allows the labor
commissioner to refer knowing and willful violators for debarment,
rather than requiring debarment for a certain period (as current law
does), and (2) broadens the debarment penalty to also cover contractors
and subcontractors who enter into certain settlements with the
commissioner to resolve claims for prevailing wage violations.
*Senate Amendment “A” replaces the underlying bill (File 253),
which would have, among other things, created additional penalties for
contractors and subcontractors that knowingly or willfully fail to pay
their workers the required prevailing wage.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023
CITATIONS, FINES, & DEBARMENT
Under current law, a contractor or subcontractor that knowingly or
willfully pays a worker on a prevailing wage project less than what the
prevailing wage law requires must be fined $2,500 to $5,000 and
debarred for a certain period. First time violators must be debarred until
six months after they have repaid the owed wages and subsequent 2022SB-00418-R01-BA.DOCX
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violators must be debarred until two years after they have repaid the
owed wages.
Citations & Fines
The bill instead (1) requires the labor commissioner to issue a citation
to such a contractor or subcontractor if, upon inspection or investigation
of a complaint, she believes that it committed the violation and (2)
allows her to impose a $5,000 fine.
Listing and Debarment
The bill also removes the current debarment requirements for
knowing and willful violators and instead requires the labor
commissioner to maintain a list of any contractor or subcontractor that,
during the previous three calendar years, (1) violated the prevailing
wage law or (2) entered into a settlement with the commissioner to
resolve any claims the commissioner brought under the prevailing wage
law.
For each contractor or subcontractor on the list, the commissioner
must record (1) the nature of the violation, (2) the total amount of wages
and fringe benefits “making up” the violation or agreed upon in the
settlement, and (3) the total amount of civil penalties and fines agreed
upon by the commissioner. (The bill does not further specify how to
determine the wages and benefits “making up” a violation.)
The bill requires the commissioner to annually review the list on May
1, for the preceding rolling three-year period. It allows her to “refer for
debarment” any contractor or subcontractor that violated the prevailing
wage law during the rolling three-year period. And it requires her to do
so for any contractor or subcontractor with whom she entered into one
or more settlements totaling over the period more than $50,000 in (1)
back wages or fringe benefits or (2) civil penalties or fines agreed upon
by the commissioner. The bill allows any contractor or subcontractor
referred for debarment to request a hearing with the commissioner
under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act.
Existing law, unchanged by the bill, (1) requires the commissioner to 2022SB-00418-R01-BA.DOCX
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maintain a list of persons or firms that have disregarded their
obligations under the prevailing wage law and (2) prohibits the state
and its political subdivisions from contracting with any persons or firms
on the list for up to three years, as determined by the commissioner
(CGS § 31-53a). The bill does not specify, but presumably, its provisions
on referring a contractor or subcontractor for debarment involve placing
the contractor or subcontractor on this list.
BACKGROUND
Prevailing Wage
The state’s prevailing wage law requires employers on certain public
works projects to pay their construction workers wages and benefits
equal to those that are customary or prevailing for the same work, in the
same trade or occupation, in the same town. The requirement applies to
new construction projects of $1 million or more and renovation projects
of $100,000 or more.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 9 Nay 4 (03/22/2022)