What's happening
Writing a plain-English summary… Track this bill to get it by email.
Why it matters
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to consumer protection
- Referred to consumer protection
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S3749
Title of bill
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to promoting fairness in competitive bidding by providing for enforcement of prevailing wage provisions applicable to public work construction projects
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill promotes fairness in competitive bidding by providing for enforcement of prevailing wage provisions applicable to public work construction projects.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one amends the general business law by adding a new section 399-K. It defines "person" to include individual, organization, school district, corporation, partnership or other business entity; and "construction project" to include any project which is subject to the provisions of article eight of the labor law and which involves the construction, modernization, improvement, rehabilitation, repair, maintenance, replacement or renovation of a building, road or structure or any portion of such a project Performed pursuant to a subcontracting arrangement.
The section allows any person to bring a civil action for the recovery of damages against the winning bidder if the winning bidder has violated the labor law by failing to pay the prevailing wage on a construction project. The action may be maintained solely by the person bringing the action, or by such person, together with the attorney general. If the winning bidder is found not to be paying the prevailing wage, the presumptive measure of damages is the value of the contract for the construction project.
If the winning bidder is found not to be paying the prevailing wage on a construction project, the presumptive measure of damages is the value of the contract for the construction project. If the office of the attorney general proceeds with an action brought by a person, such person shall receive at least 15% but not mere than twenty-five percent of the proceeds, and attorney fees plus costs.
If the attorney general does not proceed with an action under this section, the person bringing the action or settling the claim shall receive an amount not less than 50% and not more than 75% of the proceeds of the action or settlement.
Justification
Present law does not contain an effective means for redress in a prevailing wage dispute where the winning bidder has violated the labor law by failing to pay prevailing wages on the project. The payment of prevailing wages is now enforced primarily on a complaint basis. The purpose of this bill is to provide losing bidders on prevailing wage contracts a mechanism to achieve redress. This bill provides an opportunity for civil enforcement through the bidding procedure. At times contractors win contracts to perform prevailing wage work by presenting themselves as the low bidder, artificially
deflating the wage costs by neglecting to pay the prevailing wage. Their lower wages put more conscientious contractors at a disadvantage. Passage of this legislation would result in more self-policing of the industry, by encouraging contractors to realistically calculate prevailing wage costs.
Prior legislative history
A.6156 of 2001-02: Referred to Labor A.8155 of 2003-04: Referred to Labor A.3293 of 2005-06: Referred to Labor A.5851 of 2007-08: Referred to Labor
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Sixty days after it becomes a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.