Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

PRINTER'S NO.     1976
                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1745
                                               Session of
                                                 2021
     INTRODUCED BY RYAN, FEE, KAUFFMAN, KEEFER, CAUSER, METCALFE,
        COX, MOUL AND GLEIM, JULY 30, 2021
     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, JULY 30, 2021
                                    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," further providing for definitions and for
    specifications; and providing for protection of workmen.
    The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 hereby enacts as follows:
    Section 1.    Sections 2 and 3 of the act of August 15, 1961
 (P.L.987, No.442), known as the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage
 Act, 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. The term includes the
 following actions taken on roads:
    (i)    Replacement in kind, or compliance with current
 Department of Transportation design criteria and standards, of
 guide rails, curbs, pipes, line painting and other related road
 equipment.
    (ii)    Repair of pavement surface by:
    (A)    laying bituminous material up to three and one-half
 inches thick or up to four hundred twenty pounds per square yard
 on asphalt pavement, cement concrete or other hard surface,
 including associated milling, and related work raising existing
 paved shoulders to new grade; or
    (B)    patching of cement concrete surface to include joint
 spalling and repair work.
    (iii)     Widening of existing alignment which does not result
 in additional lanes or new shoulders.
    (iv)    Bridge cleaning, washing, resurfacing with blacktop,
 minor nonstructural repairs or improvements and painting, except
 when combined with complete bridge rehabilitation.
    (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
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 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), but shall not include work performed under a
 rehabilitation or manpower training program. The term includes
 combination maintenance/rehabilitation/reconstruction road
 projects on existing alignment in which nonmaintenance items
 exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the total project cost.
    (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
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 project into multiple parts for the purposes of circumventing
 this act.
    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,
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 including reasonable attorney fees and witness fees, if the
 court determines that the award is appropriate.
    Section 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 4.   This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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Statutes/Laws affected: 
Printer's No. 1976: P.L.987, No.442