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The Aftermath: Developments from the 2022 Session of the Connecticut General Assembly Affecting Employers

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

June 22, 2022
JD Supra

The 2022 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly concluded on May 4, 2022.  While not as groundbreaking as the two last full legislative sessions, and while many far-reaching bills that emerged from committee were not passed by the legislature, important bills regarding employee free speech (i.e., the much vaunted “captive audiences” legislation) and employment protections with respect to domestic violence were enacted. …

PREVAILING WAGE ENFORCEMENT

Public Act 22-17 (“An Act Concerning Wage Theft”) authorizes (as of July 1, 2023) the Connecticut Commissioner of Labor to issue increased fines and citations (i.e., $5,000 per violation) to contractors and subcontractors who violate the state’s “prevailing wage” laws. The Act requires the Commissioner to maintain a list of contractors/subcontractors that during the three preceding years violated the prevailing wage laws or entered into a settlement with the Commissioner to resolve such claims. For each contractor/subcontractor on this list, the Commissioner shall record: 1) The nature of the violation; 2) the total amount of wages and fringe benefits making up the violation or agreed upon in any settlement; and 3) the total amount of civil penalties and fines. The Commissioner shall review the list each year for the preceding rolling three-year period and may refer for debarment any contractor/subcontractor that committed a violation during this period. The Commissioner shall refer for debarment any contractor/subcontractor that entered into one or more settlement agreements where the total of all settlements within the period exceeds $50,000 in back wages or fringe benefits or civil penalties or fines. Any such contractor/subcontractor may request a hearing before the Commissioner to contest such a finding.

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Court: General contractor can be cited for subcontractor violations (LA)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By Kim Slowey
Dec. 19, 2018

Dive Brief:

  • A U.S. Appeals Court judge for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans has ruled that OSHA can cite general contractors – even if their employees are not affected – for subcontractor safety violations. The ruling came after Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta requested that the 5th Circuit review an OSHA administrative court decision that said a general contractor could only be cited for safety threats to its own employees.
  • In 2017, a Denver Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Commission administrative judge ruled that Hensel Phelps could not be cited by the agency for safety hazards created by one of its subcontractors on a project in Austin, Texas. However, the 5th Circuit said more recent rulings have rendered the case law on which the administrative judge based his decision “obsolete” and said that Hensel Phelps could be held responsible for safety on the multi-employer site as a “controlling employer.”
  • According to court documents, Hensel Phelps hired subcontractor Haynes-Eaglin-Waters (HEW) for a library construction project, and HEW, in turn, hired CVI Development as a sub-subcontractor to perform demolition, excavation and other work. Hensel Phelps and HEW project staff allegedly directed CVI to work in an unsafe excavation area. An OSHA inspector cited both Hensel Phelps and CVI for safety violations. The OSH Commission will now review the matter again, taking the 5th Circuit’s decision into consideration.

Dive Insight:

While workers might have once been expected simply to accept the risks of working on a dangerous construction site as part of their job, contractors, as well as state and local authorities, have made safety a priority. And authorities have become more willing to pursue criminal charges against contractors when their disregard results in injury or death.

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New CA law requires contractors to assume subs’ unpaid wages

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

AUTHOR – Kim Slowey
PUBLISHED – Dec. 1, 2017

Dive Brief:

  • California contractors acting as direct contractors on private construction projects will be financially responsible for any wages, fringe benefits and union contributions left unpaid by subcontractors and their sub-tiers, per a new law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, JD Supra reported. The law encompasses all private contracts entered into starting Jan. 1.
  • Direct contractors will not have to pay any penalties or liquidated damages that arise from a subcontractors neglecting to pay their employees, but the law will require direct contractors to monitor closely their subcontractors’ payrolls.
  • The law allows for direct contractors to withhold payment from any subcontractor that does not provide the required payroll records. To protect against having to assume any subcontractors’ or their sub-tiers’ unpaid costs, direct contractors should add indemnity language to their subcontracts.

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Wiljo Interiors Inc. in Tulsa pays more than $200K in unpaid wages and benefits to 178 misclassified construction workers

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

US Department of Labor investigation finds contractor responsible as a joint employer of its subcontractor’s workers

 

WHD News Brief: [12/15/2015]
Release Number: 15-2312-DAL

 

Employer: Wiljo Interiors Inc.

Site: Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Oklahoma.

Investigation Findings: A recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Wiljo Interiors Inc. violated overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act; and did not pay the proper prevailing wage rates or fringe benefits required under the Davis Bacon Act.

Wiljo Interiors was sub-contracted by prime contractor, Cherokee CRC LLC, to work on a $2.9 million federally-funded construction project at the Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Oklahoma. Wiljo Interiors then brought in an additional sub-contractor, Strong Rock Drywall LLC, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, misclassified its owner and workers as independent contractors, yet dictated what they would pay them. Strong Rock also failed to pay its employees as required by law, but their work was directed and controlled by Wiljo. Therefore, the division found there was a joint employment relationship between the two employers, holding both employers responsible, both individually and jointly, for compliance with the FLSA. The FLSA states joint employment exists where workers have an employment relationship with one employer, and the economic realities show that they are economically dependent on – and thus simultaneously employed by – another entity involved in the work.

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