THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY F. KELLER, AUMENT, BENNINGHOFF, BLOOM, BOYD, CAUSER, CLYMER, CUTLER, DENLINGER, EVERETT, FLECK, GILLEN, GROVE, HARRIS, HICKERNELL, KAUFFMAN, KRIEGER, LAWRENCE, MILLER, MILNE, MOUL, OBERLANDER, PERRY, PICKETT, REICHLEY, ROAE, ROCK, ROSS, SACCONE, SAYLOR, SCHRODER, CREIGHTON, SWANGER, METCALFE, MAHER, TALLMAN AND KNOWLES, APRIL 8, 2011

AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FEBRUARY 13, 2012   

AN ACT

Amending the act of August 15, 1961 (P.L.987, No.442), entitled

"An act relating to public works contracts; providing for

prevailing wages; imposing duties upon the Secretary of Labor

and Industry; providing remedies, penalties and repealing

existing laws," raising the threshold for applicability;

<--

further providing for specifications and for duty of

secretary; and providing for protection of workmen.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 2 of the act of August 15, 1961 (P.L.987,

<--

No.442), known as the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act, amended

August 9, 1963 (P.L.653, No.342), is amended to read:

Section 1.  Sections 2, 3 and 7 of the act of August 15, 1961

<--

(P.L.987, No.442), known as the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage

Act, amended August 9, 1963 (P.L.653, No.342), are amended to

read:

Section 2.  Definitions.--As used in this act--

(1)  "Department" means Department of Labor and Industry of

the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(2)  "Locality" means any political subdivision, or

combination of the same, within the county in which the public

work is to be performed. When no workmen for which a prevailing

minimum wage is to be determined hereunder are employed in the

locality, the locality may be extended to include adjoining

political subdivisions where such workmen are employed in those

crafts or trades for which there are no workmen employed in the

locality as otherwise herein defined.

(3)  "Maintenance work" means the repair of existing

facilities when the size, type or extent of such facilities is

not thereby changed or increased.

(4)  "Public body" means the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

any of its political subdivisions, any authority created by the

General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and any

instrumentality or agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(5)  "Public work" means construction, reconstruction,

demolition, alteration and/or repair work other than maintenance

work, done under contract and paid for in whole or in part out

of the funds of a public body where the estimated cost of the

total project is in excess of [twenty-five thousand dollars

($25,000)] one hundred eighty-five thousand dollars ($185,000)

as adjusted on March 1 of each year to conform to increases or

decreases in the Consumer Price Index as published by the United

States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics for the

previous calendar year for urban wage earners in the

Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland area combined,

but shall not include work performed under a rehabilitation or

manpower training program.

(6)  "Secretary" means the Secretary of Labor and Industry or

his duly authorized deputy or representative.

(7)  "Workman" includes laborer, mechanic, skilled and semi-

skilled laborer and apprentices employed by any contractor or

subcontractor and engaged in the performance of services

directly upon the public work project, regardless of whether

their work becomes a component part thereof, but does not

include material suppliers or their employes who do not perform

services at the job site.

(8)  "Work performed under a rehabilitation program," means

work arranged by and at a State institution primarily for

teaching and upgrading the skills and employment opportunities

of the inmates of such institutions.

(9)  "Advisory Board" means the board created by section 2.1

of this act.

(10)  "Appeals Board" means the board created by section 2.2

of this act.

Section 3.  Specifications.--(a)  The specifications for

<--

every contract for any public work to which any public body is a

party, shall contain a provision stating the minimum wage rate

that must be paid to the workmen employed in the performance of

the contract.

(b)  No person shall intentionally divide a construction

project into multiple parts for the purposes of circumventing

this act.

Section 7.  Duty of Secretary.--(a)  The secretary shall,

after consultation with the advisory board, determine the

general prevailing minimum wage rate in the locality in which

the public work is to be performed for each craft or

classification of all workmen needed to perform public work

contracts during the anticipated term thereof: Provided,

however, That employer and employe contributions for employe

benefits pursuant to a bona fide collective bargaining agreement

shall be considered an integral part of the wage rate for the

purpose of determining the minimum wage rate under this act.

Nothing in this act, however, shall prohibit the payment of more

than the general prevailing minimum wage rate to any workman

employed on public work. The secretary shall forthwith give

notice by mail of all determinations of general prevailing

minimum wage rates made pursuant to this section to any

representative of any craft, any employer or any representative

of any group of employers, who shall in writing request the

secretary so to do.

(b)  The secretary shall provide written notice acknowledging

receipt of materials submitted by any employer, labor

organization or other association or organization representing a

group of employers or employes for the purposes of inclusion in

the calculation of the prevailing wage rate under subsection

(a). If after review the secretary determines that the submitted

material is incomplete or unacceptable for inclusion in the

calculation of the prevailing wage rate, the secretary shall

send a written statement by mail to the employer, labor

organization or other association or organization representing a

group of employers or employes providing the reasons the

information cannot be used.

Section 2.  The act is amended by adding a section to read:

Section 13.1.  Protection of Workmen.--(a)  No contractor or

subcontractor may discharge, threaten or otherwise discriminate

or retaliate against a workman regarding the employe's

compensation, terms, conditions, location or privileges of

employment because the workman exercised his rights under

section 11(b) or 13.

(b)    No contractor or subcontractor may discharge, threaten

or otherwise discriminate or retaliate against an employe

regarding the employe's compensation, terms, conditions,

location or privilege of employment because the employe is

requested by the secretary to participate in an investigation,

hearing or inquiry held by the secretary or in a court action.

(c)  (1)  A workman who alleges a violation of this act may

bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction for

appropriate injunctive relief or damages, or both, within one

hundred eighty days after the occurrence of the alleged

violation.

(2)  It shall be a defense to an action under this section if

the defendant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the

action by the employer occurred for separate and legitimate

reasons, which are not merely pretextual.

(d)  A court, in rendering a judgment in an action brought

under this act, shall order, as the court considers appropriate,

reinstatement of the employe, the payment of back wages, full

reinstatement of fringe benefits and seniority rights, damages

or a combination of the remedies. A court may also award the

complainant all or a portion of the costs of litigation,

including reasonable attorney fees and witness fees, if the

court determines that the award is appropriate.

Section 2 3.  The amendment of section 2 of the act shall

<--

apply to contracts entered into on or after the effective date

of this section.

Section 3 4.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.

<--