2006 -- H 7335

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LC02056

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2006

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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 Long, and Jackson

     Date Introduced: February 15, 2006

     Referred To: House Finance

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Sections 37-13-3, 37-13-7, 37-13-9, 37-13-11, 37-13-12 and 37-13-13 of

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the General Laws in Chapter 37-13 entitled "Labor and Payment of Debts by Contractors" are

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hereby amended to read as follows:

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     37-13-3. Contractors subject to provisions -- Weekly payment of employees. -- All

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contractors, who have been awarded contracts for public works by an awarding agency or

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authority of the state or of any city, town, committee, or by any person or persons therein, in

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which state or municipal funds are used and of which the contract price shall be in excess of one

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thousand dollars ($1,000) twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), whether payable at the time of

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the signing of the contract or at a later date, and their subcontractors, on those public works shall

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pay their employees at weekly intervals and shall comply with the provisions set forth in sections

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37-13-4 -- 37-13-14 and section 37-13-16.

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     37-13-7. Specification in contract of amount and frequency of payment of wages. --

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(a) Every call for bids for every contract in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000) twenty-five

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thousand dollars ($25,000), to which the state of Rhode Island or any political subdivision thereof

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or any public agency or quasi-public agency is a party, for construction, alteration, and/or repair,

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including painting and decorating, of public buildings or public works of the state of Rhode

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Island or any political subdivision thereof, or any public agency or quasi-public agency and

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which requires or involves the employment of employees, shall contain a provision stating the

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minimum wages to be paid various types of employees which shall be based upon the wages that

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will be determined by the director of labor and training to be prevailing for the corresponding

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types of employees employed on projects of a character similar to the contract work in the city,

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town, village, or other appropriate political subdivision of the state of Rhode Island in which the

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work is to be performed. Every contract shall contain a stipulation that the contractor or his or her

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subcontractor shall pay all the employees employed directly upon the site of the work,

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unconditionally and not less often than once a week, and without subsequent deduction or rebate

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on any account, the full amounts accrued at time of payment computed at wage rates not less than

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those stated in the call for bids, regardless of any contractual relationships which may be alleged

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to exist between the contractor or subcontractor and the employees, and that the scale of wages to

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be paid shall be posted by the contractor in a prominent and easily accessible place at the site of

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the work; and the further stipulation that there may be withheld from the contractor so much of

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the accrued payments as may be considered necessary to pay to the employees employed by the

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contractor, or any subcontractor on the work, the difference between the rates of wages required

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by the contract to be paid the employees on the work and the rates of wages received by the

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employees and not refunded to the contractor, subcontractors, or their agents.

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      (b) The terms "wages", "scale of wages", "wage rates", "minimum wages", and

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"prevailing wages" shall include:

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      (1) The basic hourly rate of pay; and

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      (2) The amount of:

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      (A) The rate of contribution made by a contractor or subcontractor to a trustee or to a

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third person pursuant to a fund, plan, or program; and

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      (B) The rate of costs to the contractor or subcontractor which may be reasonably

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anticipated in providing benefits to employees pursuant to an enforceable commitment to carry

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out a financially responsible plan or program which was communicated in writing to the

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employees affected, for medical or hospital care, pensions on retirement or death, compensation

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for injuries or illness resulting from occupational activity, or insurance to provide any of the

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foregoing, for unemployment benefits, life insurance, disability and sickness insurance, or

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accident insurance, for vacation and holiday pay, for defraying costs of apprenticeship or other

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similar programs, or for other bona fide fringe benefits, but only where the contractor or

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subcontractor is not required by other federal, state, or local law to provide any of the benefits;

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provided, that the obligation of a contractor or subcontractor to make payment in accordance with

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the prevailing wage determinations of the director of labor and training insofar as this chapter of

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this title and other acts incorporating this chapter of this title by reference are concerned may be

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discharged by the making of payments in cash, by the making of contributions of a type referred

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to in subsection (b)(2), or by the assumption of an enforceable commitment to bear the costs of a

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plan or program of a type referred to in this subdivision, or any combination thereof, where the

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aggregate of any payments, contributions, and costs is not less than the rate of pay described in

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subsection (b)(1) plus the amount referred to in subsection (b)(2).

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      (c) The term "employees", as used in this section, shall include employees of contractors

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or subcontractors performing jobs on various types of public works including mechanics,

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apprentices, teamsters, chauffeurs, and laborers engaged in the transportation of gravel or fill to

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the site of public works, the removal and/or delivery of gravel or fill or ready-mix concrete, sand,

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bituminous stone, or asphalt flowable fill from the site of public works, or the transportation or

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removal of gravel or fill from one location to another on the site of public works, and the

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employment of the employees shall be subject to the provisions of subsections (a) and (b).

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      (d) The terms "public agency" and "quasi-public agency" shall include, but not be

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limited to, the Rhode Island industrial recreational building authority, the Rhode Island economic

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development corporation, the Rhode Island airport corporation, the Rhode Island industrial

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facilities corporation, the Rhode Island refunding bond authority, the Rhode Island housing and

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mortgage finance corporation, the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation, the Rhode Island

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public transit authority, the Rhode Island student loan authority, the water resources board

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corporate, the Rhode Island health and education building corporation, the Rhode Island higher

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education assistance authority, the Rhode Island turnpike and bridge authority, the Narragansett

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Bay water quality management district commission, Rhode Island telecommunications authority,

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the convention center authority, the board of governors for higher education, the board of regents

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for elementary and secondary education, the capital center commission, the housing resources

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commission, the Quonset Point-Davisville management corporation, the Rhode Island children's

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crusade for higher education, the Rhode Island depositors economic protection corporation, the

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Rhode Island lottery commission, the Rhode Island partnership for science and technology, the

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Rhode Island public building authority, and the Rhode Island underground storage tank board.

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     37-13-9. Statutory provisions included in contracts. -- A copy of sections 37-13-5, 37-

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13-6, and 37-13-7 shall be inserted in all contracts for public works awarded by the state, any

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city, town, committee, an authorized agency, or awarding authority thereof, or any person or

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persons in their behalf in which state or municipal funds are used if the contract price is in excess

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of one thousand dollars ($1,000) twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).

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     37-13-11. Posting of prevailing wage rates. -- Each contractor awarded a contract for

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public works with a contract price in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000) twenty-five

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thousand dollars ($25,000), and each subcontractor who performs work on those public works,

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shall post in conspicuous places on the project, where covered workers are employed, posters

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which contain the current, prevailing rate of wages and the current, prevailing rate of payments to

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the funds required to be paid for each craft or type of worker employed to execute the contract as

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set forth in sections 37-13-6 and 37-13-7. Posters shall be furnished to contractors and

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subcontractors by the director of labor and training, who shall determine the size and context

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thereof from time to time, at the time a contract is awarded. A contractor or subcontractor who

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fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and

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shall pay to the director of labor and training one hundred dollars ($100) for each calendar day of

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noncompliance as determined by him or her. Contracts set forth in this section shall not be

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awarded by the state, any city, town, or any agency thereof until the director of labor and training

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has prepared and delivered the posters to the division of purchases, if the state or any agency

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thereof is the proper authority, or to the city, town, or an agency thereof, if it is the proper

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authority, and the contractor to whom the contract is to be awarded.

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     37-13-12. Wage records of contractors. -- Each contractor awarded a contract with a

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contract price in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000) twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000)_

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for public works, and each subcontractor who performs work on those public works, shall keep an

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accurate record showing the name, occupation, and actual wages paid to each worker employed

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by him or her and the payments to all the employee funds specified in sections 37-13-6 and 37-

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13-7 by him or her in connection with the contract or work. The director and his or her authorized

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representatives shall have the right to enter any place of employment at all reasonable hours for

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the purpose of inspecting the wage records and seeing that all provisions of this chapter are

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complied with.

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     37-13-13. Furnishing payroll record to director of labor and training. -- Each

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contractor awarded a contract with a contract price in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000)

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twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for public works, and each subcontractor who performs

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work on public works, shall furnish a certified copy of his or her payroll record of his or her

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employees employed upon the public works to the director of labor and training on a weekly basis

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for the preceding week. The director of labor and training may promulgate reasonable rules and

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regulations to enforce the provisions of this section. A contractor or subcontractor who fails to

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comply with the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall pay

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to the director of labor and training one hundred dollars ($100) for each calendar day of

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noncompliance as determined by the director of labor and training. Any of those revenues shall be

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deposited as general revenues.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC02056

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- LABOR AND PAYMENT OF DEBTS

BY CONTRACTORS

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     This act would raise the threshold for municipal projects which require a prevailing wage

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pay rate from one thousand dollars ($1,000) to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC02056

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