What's happening
This bill bars contractors and related parties from bidding on public work contracts if they have unpaid prevailing wage violations from previous contracts.
Why it matters
Expands accountability beyond just the contractor. The bill makes not only contractors, but also subcontractors, successors, affiliated entities, key partners, officers, and major shareholders (10% or more ownership) ineligible to bid if they have unpaid prevailing wage violations. This closes loopholes where individuals could simply form new entities to continue bidding.
Targets willful, unresolved violations. Ineligibility applies specifically to those who have "willfully" failed to pay owed wages or supplements after a final determination, signaling a focus on repeat or egregious offenders rather than inadvertent or contested cases.
Creates strong incentive for compliance. Contractors and related parties risk losing access to future public contracts until all outstanding wage obligations from previous contracts are paid, which could significantly impact their business and encourage prompt resolution of wage violations.
Protects public investment and worker rights. By ensuring only contractors who have fulfilled their wage obligations can work on public projects, the bill aims to foster fair competition, uphold labor standards, and prevent taxpayer-funded contracts from rewarding labor law violators.
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Who cares
Public works contractors and subcontractors
Those subject to a final determination of willful prevailing-wage or supplement violations would be barred from bidding on or receiving public work contracts or subcontracts until all amounts due from prior public work contracts are paid.
Public works workers
The bill would make payment of overdue prevailing wages and supplements a condition for violating contractors to regain eligibility for public work.
State agencies, municipal corporations and public bodies
They could not award public work contracts or subcontracts to contractors covered by the bill’s unpaid-wage disqualification.
Contractor affiliates, successors and owners
The disqualification would also reach substantially owned affiliates, successors, partners, shareholders owning or controlling at least 10 percent of stock, and officers who knowingly participated in the violation.
Headline styles
Bar Unpaid Wage Bidders
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Block Unpaid Wage Contractors
In Senate Committee · Labor · Sponsor José Peralta
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
616
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. M. G. MILLER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to making contractors ineligible to bid for a public work contract if prevailing rate wages and supplements due from a prior public work contract remain unpaid
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph b of subdivision 3 of section 220-b of the labor law is amended by adding a new subparagraph 1-a to read as follows:
(1-a) When a final determination has been rendered against a contractor, subcontractor, successor, or any substantially-owned affiliated entity of the contractor or subcontractor, any of the partners if the contractor or subcontractor is a partnership, any officer of the contractor or subcontractor who knowingly participated in the violation of this article, any of the shareholders who own or control at least ten per centum of the outstanding stock of the contractor or subcontractor or any successor has wilfully failed to pay the prevailing rate of wages or to provide supplements in accordance with this article, whether such failures were concurrent or consecutive, such contractor, subcontractor, successor, or any substantially-owned affiliated entity of the contractor or subcontractor, any of the partners if the contractor or subcontractor is a partnership or any of the shareholders who own or control at least ten per centum of the outstanding stock of the contractor or subcontractor, any officer of the contractor or subcontractor who knowingly participated in the violation of this article shall be ineligible to submit a bid on or be awarded any public work contract or subcontract with the state, any municipal corporation or public body unless and until all prevailing rates of wages and supplements due from all prior public work contracts have been paid.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00052-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.