Senator Gadkar-Wilcox Votes to Crack Down on Contractor Theft in Connecticut

HARTFORD – This week Senator Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox joined several of her Senate colleagues in passing a bill that allows the state to withhold payments to contractors and subcontractors who won’t pay their employees working on state projects.

Senate Bill 268, “An Act Authorizing the Comptroller to Withhold Payment for Violations of the Prevailing Wage Statutes,” passed the state Senate on a bipartisan 31-5 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

“When contractors break the law and cheat workers out of their wages, they’re not just hurting the men and women of the building trades, they’re undermining every responsible employer who follows the law,” said Senator Gadkar-Wilcox. This bill gives the state a real enforcement tool to back up our prevailing wage laws, and sends a clear message that Connecticut will not cut checks to contractors who steal from their workers. Our building trades workers deserve to be paid what they’ve earned.”

Joseph P. Toner, Executive Director of the Connecticut State Building Trades Council, testified in support of the bill at its public hearing in February.

“Prevailing wage laws are not abstract policy. They directly impact whether working people are paid what they are legally owed for their labor. Senate Bill 268 addresses those difficult cases by providing an additional, targeted compliance mechanism,” Toner testified. “Senate Bill 268 also reinforces fair competition in the construction industry. Law-abiding contractors who pay proper wages and follow the rules should not be placed at a disadvantage by competitors who gain an edge through illegal practices. Ensuring that state payments are tied to compliance helps protect the integrity of the public contracting process and the responsible employers who operate within it.”

S.B. 268 sets a process for the state comptroller to withhold payment to a contractor or subcontractor who has violated the state’s prevailing wage law. More specifically, it allows the labor commissioner to notify the comptroller when she issues a stop-work order against a contractor or subcontractor for knowingly or willfully failing to pay an employee the prevailing wage required on a public works project.

The bill requires the comptroller, within 10 business days after getting the notice, to notify the contractor or subcontractor that he received the notice and that the contractor or subcontractor must comply with the prevailing wage requirement within 10 business days.

If the contractor or subcontractor remains noncompliant after this 10-day period, the bill allows the comptroller to withhold payment to the contractor or subcontractor until the labor commissioner releases the stop work order, the contractor or subcontractor pays any penalties imposed under the prevailing wage law, or parties finalize a settlement agreement.

Connecticut’s prevailing wage law generally requires contractors and subcontractors on certain public works projects to pay their construction workers wages and benefits equal to those that are customary or prevailing for the same work, in the same occupation, in the same town. The requirement applies to new construction projects costing at least $1 million and renovation projects costing at least $100,000.