2025 -- H 5505
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LC001459
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
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A N A C T
RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- LABOR AND PAYMENT OF DEBTS
BY CONTRACTORS
Introduced By: Representatives Corvese, Azzinaro, Serpa, DeSimone, and Alzate
Date Introduced: February 13, 2025
Referred To: House Labor
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 37-13-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 37-13 entitled "Labor and 1
Payment of Debts by Contractors" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
37-13-7. Specification in contract of amount and frequency of payment of wages. 3
(a) Every call for bids for every contract in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000), to 4
which the state of Rhode Island or any political subdivision thereof or any public agency or quasi-5
public agency is a party, for the transportation of public and private school pupils pursuant to §§ 6
16-21-1 and 16-21.1-8, or for construction, alteration, and/or repair, including painting and 7
decorating, of public buildings or public works of the state of Rhode Island or any political 8
subdivision thereof, or any public agency or quasi-public agency and that requires or involves the 9
employment of employees, shall contain a provision stating the minimum wages to be paid various 10
types of employees which shall be based upon the wages that will be determined by the director of 11
labor and training to be prevailing for the corresponding types of employees employed on projects 12
of a character similar to the contract work in the city, town, village, or other appropriate political 13
subdivision of the state of Rhode Island in which the work is to be performed. Every contract shall 14
contain a stipulation that the contractor or his or her subcontractor shall pay all the employees 15
employed directly upon the site of the work, unconditionally and not less often than once a week, 16
and without subsequent deduction or rebate on any account, the full amounts accrued at time of 17
payment computed at wage rates not less than those stated in the call for bids, regardless of any 18
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contractual relationships that may be alleged to exist between the contractor or subcontractor and 1
the employees, and that the scale of wages to be paid shall be posted by the contractor in a 2
prominent and easily accessible place at the site of the work; and the further stipulation that there 3
may be withheld from the contractor so much of the accrued payments as may be considered 4
necessary to pay to the employees employed by the contractor, or any subcontractor on the work, 5
the difference between the rates of wages required by the contract to be paid the employees on the 6
work and the rates of wages received by the employees and not refunded to the contractor, 7
subcontractors, or their agents. 8
(b) The terms “wages,” “scale of wages,” “wage rates,” “minimum wages,” and “prevailing 9
wages” shall include: 10
(1) The basic hourly rate of pay; and 11
(2) The amount of: 12
(i) The rate of contribution made by a contractor or subcontractor to a trustee or to a third 13
person pursuant to a fund, plan, or program; and 14
(ii) The rate of costs to the contractor, subcontractor, vendor, or provider that may be 15
reasonably anticipated in providing benefits to employees pursuant to an enforceable commitment 16
to carry out a financially responsible plan or program that was communicated in writing to the 17
employees affected, for medical or hospital care, pensions on retirement or death, compensation 18
for injuries or illness resulting from occupational activity, or insurance to provide any of the 19
foregoing, for unemployment benefits, life insurance, disability and sickness insurance, or accident 20
insurance, for vacation and holiday pay, for defraying costs of apprenticeship or other similar 21
programs, or for other bona fide fringe benefits, but only where the contractor or subcontractor is 22
not required by other federal, state, or local law to provide any of the benefits; provided, that the 23
obligation of a contractor or subcontractor to make payment in accordance with the prevailing wage 24
determinations of the director of labor and training insofar as this chapter of this title and other acts 25
incorporating this chapter of this title by reference are concerned may be discharged by the making 26
of payments in cash, by the making of contributions of a type referred to in subsection (b)(2), or by 27
the assumption of an enforceable commitment to bear the costs of a plan or program of a type 28
referred to in this subdivision, or any combination thereof, where the aggregate of any payments, 29
contributions, and costs is not less than the rate of pay described in subsection (b)(1) plus the 30
amount referred to in subsection (b)(2). 31
(A) Notwithstanding any other law, rule, regulation, agreement, or practice to the contrary, 32
commencing on July 1, 2024, a contractor or subcontractor is not permitted to make a payment of 33
the cash equivalent of any applicable healthcare benefit, as predetermined per each classification 34
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by the director of labor and training, directly to the employee in lieu of actually purchasing the 1
healthcare benefit for said employee for the applicable time period. The contractor or subcontractor 2
shall actually purchase the healthcare benefit for the employee for the covered period of time from 3
a licensed third-party healthcare provider. Provided, however, exempt from the provisions of this 4
subsection (b)(2)(ii)(A) shall be: 5
(I) Any employee currently receiving a healthcare benefit because of their relationship as 6
a child, spouse, or domestic partner of a covered person or any employee who is the recipient of 7
healthcare coverage in connection with active military service or through Veterans Affairs; and 8
(II) Any employee who is employed on a “short-term basis,” which, for purposes of this 9
section, shall mean a period of ninety (90) days or less. 10
(B) The contractor or subcontractor shall provide a proof of purchase of the healthcare 11
benefit to the employee and the employee’s bargaining agent, if applicable. “Proof of purchase” 12
means documents substantially similar to declaration pages in an insurance policy indicating the 13
entity providing the healthcare benefit coverage or insurance therefor; the identity of the individual 14
covered; the type and amount of coverage; and the coverage period. 15
(C) Notwithstanding any other law, rule, regulation, agreement, or practice to the contrary, 16
commencing on July 1, 2025, unless employed ninety (90) days or less, a contractor or 17
subcontractor shall not be permitted to make a payment of the cash equivalent of any applicable 18
retirement or pension benefit, as predetermined per each classification by the director of the 19
department of labor and training, directly to the employee in lieu of actually purchasing the 20
retirement and/or pension benefit for said employee. The department of labor and training may 21
require any contractor or subcontractor to provide proof that it is providing this benefit to its eligible 22
employees. 23
(C)(D) Any contractor or subcontractor who or that fails to comply with the requirements 24
of this section shall be required to pay a civil penalty to the director of labor and training in an 25
amount of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and not greater than three thousand dollars 26
($3,000) per violation. Penalties shall be recoverable in a civil action pursuant to this section by the 27
director of labor and training. 28
(D)(E) The director of labor and training is authorized to obtain injunctive relief against 29
continuing violations of the provisions of this section. 30
(E)(F) Any employee or bargaining agent who has been aggrieved by the failure of a 31
contractor or subcontractor to actually purchase the healthcare benefit for employees and provide 32
the employee and/or their bargaining agent with proof of purchase under this section may pursue a 33
private right of action under the terms of § 37-13-17. 34
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(c) The term “employees,” as used in this section, shall include: 1
(1) Employees of contractors or subcontractors performing jobs on various types of public 2
works including mechanics, apprentices, teamsters, chauffeurs, and laborers engaged in the 3
transportation of gravel or fill to the site of public works, the removal and/or delivery of gravel or 4
fill or ready-mix concrete, sand, bituminous stone, or asphalt flowable fill from the site of public 5
works, or the transportation or removal of gravel or fill from one location to another on the site of 6
public works, and the employment of the employees shall be subject to the provisions of 7
subsections (a) and (b); and 8
(2) Persons employed by a provider contracted for the purpose of transporting public and 9
private school pupils pursuant to §§ 16-21-1 and 16-21.1-8 shall be subject to the provisions of 10
subsections (a) and (b) of this section. For the purposes of this subsection the term employee 11
includes school bus drivers, aides, and monitors who are directly providing transportation services; 12
the term employee does not include mechanics, dispatchers, or other personnel employed by the 13
vendor whose duties are normally performed at a fixed location. 14
(d) The terms “public agency” and “quasi-public agency” shall include, but not be limited 15
to: the Rhode Island industrial recreational building authority, the Rhode Island commerce 16
corporation, the Rhode Island airport corporation, the Rhode Island industrial facilities corporation, 17
the Rhode Island refunding bond authority, the Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance 18
corporation, the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation, the Rhode Island public transit 19
authority, the Rhode Island student loan authority, the water resources board corporate, the Rhode 20
Island health and education building corporation, the Rhode Island turnpike and bridge authority, 21
the Narragansett Bay water quality management district commission, the Rhode Island 22
telecommunications authority, the convention center authority, the council on postsecondary 23
education, the council on elementary and secondary education, the capital center commission, the 24
housing resources commission, the Quonset Point-Davisville management corporation, the Rhode 25
Island children’s crusade for higher education, the Rhode Island depositors economic protection 26
corporation, the Rhode Island lottery commission, the Rhode Island partnership for science and 27
technology, the Rhode Island public building authority, and the Rhode Island underground storage 28
tank board. 29
(e) If any one or more subsections of this section shall for any reason be adjudged 30
unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the 31
remaining subsections. 32
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 1
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- LABOR AND PAYMENT O F DEBTS
BY CONTRACTORS
***
This act would prohibit a contractor or subcontractor from making a payment of the cash 1
equivalent of any retirement or pension benefit directly to an employee in lieu of actually 2
purchasing the retirement or pension benefit if the employee has been employed in excess of ninety 3
(90) days. 4
This act would take effect upon passage. 5
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