Redmond Contractor Fined For Wage Violations, Barred From Public Contracts

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State labor regulators ordered a Redmond contractor to pay $13,600 in penalties, after concluding the company violated prevailing wage laws.

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries also barred Hard Rock Concrete Inc. and the company’s president from public works projects for three years.

The labor agency announced the penalties Friday. Hard Rock Concrete president Rocky Evans has not yet responded to a message left by The Oregonian regarding the penalties.

Investigators found that seven Hard Rock Concrete contractors were underpaid roughly $8,900 for concrete work at Hillside Elementary School in Eagle Point. The business did a poor job of keeping records and filed incorrect payroll data, according to the state.

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Maryland Approves Wage Bill for School Construction

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A measure to expand Maryland’s prevailing wage law has been passed by the Maryland General Assembly.

The state Senate passed the bill 32-15 on Wednesday, sending the measure to Gov. Martin O’Malley.

 The bill lowers the share of total school construction project costs paid by the state from 50 percent to 25 percent for the prevailing wage law to apply.

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Record $17.7 Million in Unpaid Wages Returned to Workers on Public Works Projects in 2013

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OAKLAND, Calif., March 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ —

California Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su announced that in 2013, over 10,000 workers statewide received checks which returned a cumulative $17.7 million in unpaid prevailing wages on public works projects across the state.

The payments were collected from public works investigations that uncovered prevailing wage and other violations of state public works laws in over 400 publicly-funded projects. In 2012, the Labor Commissioner’s office collected the highest amount in the last decade when it reinstated $8.2 million to approximately 7,400 public works employees.  The $17.7 million figure for 2013 doubles the record set in the previous year.

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Prevailing Wage Bill Sent to Appropriations In Unusual Last-Minute Switch

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In a surprise move just before a full House vote Wednesday, a bill to align construction workers’ pay on some state projects with federal wage standards was bumped to another committee.

H.878 would replace Vermont’s prevailing wage statute with the federal Davis Bacon Act. State and federal rules apply only to certain government-funded projects. The law does not affect public construction or private enterprises.

Unions and labor advocates, backed by the Democratic caucus this session, support the switch. They say adopting the federal standard would “level the playing field” for union shops and contractors who pay benefits.

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Prevailing wage bill dies in committee

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By RONNIE ELLISCNHI

FRANKFORT – The state House of Representatives will apparently not vote on a bill to remove the requirement that public school construction projects pay the area’s prevailing wage.

The bill was sponsored by House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, and supporters say its passage would save local school districts and the state several million dollars on school construction projects. Opponents say requiring the prevailing wage for such projects ensures higher work quality and benefits both union and non-union workers’ wages.

San Rafael’s red-light camera company nabbed by state for not paying prevailing wage

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San Rafael’s red-light cameras may be dark, but the city’s relationship with the provider isn’t over.

The city has been instructed by the state to withhold nearly $25,000 in payments to Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. of Phoenix, which serviced the city’s two cameras, because the company failed to pay its contractors prevailing wage when the equipment was installed in October 2009. Prevailing wage is the basic hourly rate paid to public works project employees as set by the state, ensuring contractors aren’t awarded projects based on paying lower wages than a competitor.

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DOL Wage and Hour Division announces upcoming Prevailing Wage Seminars

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The Wage and Hour Division is pleased to announce the following Prevailing Wage Seminars for 2014:
Manchester, NH March 4-6, 2014
Phoenix, AZ March 18-20, 2014
Chicago, IL April 1-3, 2014
San Diego, CA April 22-24, 2014
Houston, TX May 7-9, 2014
Atlanta, GA June 3-5, 2014

If you wish to attend one of these seminars, please send an email to WHDPWS@dol.gov Your email should include your name, title, organization, mailing address, email address, and location of the seminar that you wish to attend. There is no fee for attending any of these seminars, however, space is limited. Upon receipt of this information, we will advise you whether your request can be accommodated.

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MSUM reimbursed ND contractors for prevailing wage errors

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MOORHEAD – Minnesota State University Moorhead reimbursed West Fargo’s FM Contracting Inc. for nearly $69,000 after the company was told by a state agency it had not paid some workers in line with the state’s prevailing wage levels.

Jan Mahoney, MSUM’s vice president for finance and administration, said MSUM paid the difference in wages sought by the Department of Labor and Industry for 19 workers because of an architect’s error on bid documents sent out for the renovation of Dahl Hall.

“FM Contracting did everything OK,” Mahoney said Monday. “It was an oversight on the part of our architects.”

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Administration Proposes Federal Prevailing Wage for State Construction

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Construction bids for state-funded capital construction projects could soon be subject to wage requirements that alter the way in which companies compete for the jobs.

Labor Commissioner Annie Noonan told lawmakers Wednesday that Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration is advocating a switch to the federal prevailing wage as the basis for contract requirements on state capital construction projects. The administration also suggests requiring a prevailing wage for construction workers for all state-funded capital construction projects, regardless of how much they cost.

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