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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 90.1 PREVAILING WAGE RATE ACT.
1 2 This chapter shall be known as the "Prevailing Wage Rate
1 3 Act".
1 4 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 90.2 DEFINITIONS.
1 5 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
1 6 requires:
1 7 1. "Contract for a public improvement" means a contract
1 8 for the construction, alteration, repair, or remodeling,
1 9 including painting and decorating, of a public building or
1 10 structure or other public improvement of any type located in
1 11 whole or in part in a city over twenty thousand in population
1 12 or located in whole or in part in an unincorporated area of a
1 13 county over twenty thousand in population and to which a
1 14 governmental body is a party, but does not mean a contract for
1 15 the construction, alteration, or repair of a farm-to-market
1 16 road, as defined in section 306.3, to which a governmental
1 17 body is a party.
1 18 2. "Contracting party" means contractor or subcontractor
1 19 party to a contract for a public improvement.
1 20 3. "Governmental body" means the state of Iowa, an agency
1 21 or department of the state, or the state board of regents.
1 22 4. "Prevailing wage rates" means wage rates for mechanics
1 23 and skilled and unskilled laborers, who perform work pursuant
1 24 to a contract for a public improvement, as determined by the
1 25 labor commissioner under section 90.6.
1 26 5. "Wages" or "wage rates" means all of the following:
1 27 a. The basic hourly rate of pay.
1 28 b. The amount of all of the following:
1 29 (1) The rate of contribution irrevocably made by a
1 30 contractor or subcontractor to a trustee or to a third person
1 31 pursuant to a fund, plan, or program.
1 32 (2) The rate of costs to the contractor or subcontractor
1 33 which may be reasonably anticipated in providing benefits to
1 34 laborers and mechanics pursuant to an enforceable commitment
1 35 to carry out a financially responsible plan or program which
2 1 was communicated in writing to the laborers and mechanics
2 2 affected, for medical or hospital care, pensions on retirement
2 3 or death, compensation for injuries or illness resulting from
2 4 occupational activity, or insurance to provide any of the
2 5 foregoing, for unemployment benefits, life insurance,
2 6 disability and sickness insurance or accident insurance, for
2 7 vacation and holiday pay, for defraying costs of
2 8 apprenticeship or other similar programs, or for other bona
2 9 fide fringe benefits, but only where the contractor or
2 10 subcontractor is not required by other federal, state, or
2 11 local law to provide such benefits.
2 12 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 90.3 SPECIFICATIONS FOR CONTRACT.
2 13 All specifications for a contract for a public improvement
2 14 in excess of two thousand dollars and a contract for a public
2 15 improvement in excess of two thousand dollars shall contain
2 16 provisions that do all of the following:
2 17 1. Require the contracting party to pay the mechanics and
2 18 laborers it employs to perform work on the project under the
2 19 contract for a public improvement not less than the prevailing
2 20 wage rates.
2 21 2. Require the contracting party to pay its mechanics and
2 22 laborers no less frequently than once a week and without
2 23 subsequent deduction or rebate on any account, the full
2 24 amounts accrued at the time of payment, computed at wage rates
2 25 not less than the prevailing wage rates, regardless of any
2 26 contractual relationship alleged to exist between the
2 27 contracting party and its mechanics and laborers.
2 28 3. Require the contracting party to post the prevailing
2 29 wage rates in a prominent and easily accessible place at the
2 30 site of work under the contract for a public improvement.
2 31 4. Require the contracting party to maintain records of
2 32 the wages paid to its mechanics and laborers employed to
2 33 perform work under the contract in such form as may be
2 34 determined necessary by the labor commissioner.
2 35 5. Permit the governmental body to inspect the records
3 1 required to be maintained by the contracting party under this
3 2 section at all reasonable times and places upon demand by the
3 3 governmental body.
3 4 6. a. Permit the governmental body to withhold from the
3 5 contracting party so much of accrued payments under the
3 6 contract as the governmental body deems necessary to pay the
3 7 mechanics and laborers employed by the contracting party to
3 8 perform work under the contract the difference between the
3 9 prevailing wage rates and the wages paid to them by the
3 10 contracting party.
3 11 b. Allow the governmental body, upon not less than seven
3 12 days written notice to the contracting party, to terminate the
3 13 contract, in the event the governmental body determines the
3 14 contracting party has failed or is failing to perform any of
3 15 its duties under this section, and permit the governmental
3 16 body to institute an action in the district court for damages
3 17 reasonably related to the termination of the contract.
3 18 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 90.4 GOVERNMENTAL BODY POWERS AND
3 19 DUTIES.
3 20 1. In addition to any other duties imposed by law
3 21 concerning the letting of a bid for, entering into, and
3 22 performing a contract for a public improvement, a governmental
3 23 body shall do all of the following:
3 24 a. Ascertain the prevailing wage rates for any contract
3 25 for a public improvement.
3 26 b. Comply with the provisions of section 90.3 in the
3 27 letting of bids for a contract for a public improvement.
3 28 c. Refrain from entering into a contract for a public
3 29 improvement which fails to contain the provisions set out in
3 30 section 90.3.
3 31 d. Take all actions reasonably necessary to ensure the
3 32 contracting party is in compliance with the terms and
3 33 conditions of a contract for a public improvement, including
3 34 inspecting the records maintained by the contracting party
3 35 pursuant to a contract under section 90.3 and pursuant to
4 1 section 90.5 and investigating complaints by any person that
4 2 the contracting party is not in compliance with the terms and
4 3 conditions of the contract for a public improvement.
4 4 e. Refrain from entering into a contract for a public
4 5 improvement with a contracting party which has been found to
4 6 be in violation of a contract for a public improvement as
4 7 determined by the labor commissioner.
4 8 f. Report to the labor commissioner, in such form and
4 9 manner as the labor commissioner determines, a violation of
4 10 the provisions of this chapter by any contracting party which
4 11 is a party to a contract for a public improvement with the
4 12 governmental body.
4 13 2. A governmental body may do either of the following:
4 14 a. Require the contracting party to post a bond as deemed
4 15 necessary by the governmental body to provide for the payment
4 16 of the prevailing wage rates.
4 17 b. Take any action to enforce the terms and provisions of
4 18 a contract for a public improvement.
4 19 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 90.5 DUTIES OF CONTRACTING PARTY.
4 20 1. A contracting party shall do all of the following:
4 21 a. At the time of submitting a bid for a contract for a
4 22 public improvement, state to the governmental body the
4 23 identity of all other persons, partnerships, corporations or
4 24 other entities to which it is subcontracting any portion of
4 25 the work to be performed under a contract for a public
4 26 improvement. No work under a contract for a public
4 27 improvement shall be performed by any persons, partnerships,
4 28 corporations, or other entities other than those stated to the
4 29 governmental body in the contracting party's bid proposal,
4 30 except in the event of exigent circumstances which require the
4 31 substitution of a subcontractor, and which substitution has
4 32 been approved in writing by the governmental body and by the
4 33 labor commissioner.
4 34 b. Comply with the terms of the contract for a public
4 35 improvement required by section 90.3.
5 1 c. Maintain and provide to the governmental body records
5 2 showing payment of the prevailing wage rates to its mechanics
5 3 and skilled and unskilled laborers under the contract for a
5 4 public improvement in such form and manner as the labor
5 5 commissioner shall determine.
5 6 2. A contracting party shall not attempt, either directly
5 7 or indirectly, to avoid the requirements of this chapter.
5 8 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 90.6 LABOR COMMISSIONER DUTIES.
5 9 The labor commissioner shall have the following duties and
5 10 powers:
5 11 1. The labor commissioner shall adopt rules, at least
5 12 annually, which establish the wage rates for mechanics and
5 13 laborers of the type customarily employed to perform work
5 14 under a contract for a public improvement, which prevail in
5 15 each county and in each city over twenty thousand in
5 16 population in the state among workers performing work similar
5 17 in character to that performed on projects under contracts for
5 18 a public improvement. The wage rates so determined for each
5 19 county and city by the labor commissioner shall be the
5 20 prevailing wage rates for work to be performed by a
5 21 contracting party under a contract for a public improvement
5 22 within that county or city.
5 23 2. In determining and establishing the prevailing wage
5 24 rates for each county and city, the labor commissioner shall
5 25 consider prevailing wage rate data established by the United
5 26 States secretary of labor pursuant to 40 U.S.C. }} 276a to
5 27 276a-7, wage rates for mechanics and skilled and unskilled
5 28 laborers for work performed within the county or city provided
5 29 for in bona fide collective bargaining agreements, and any
5 30 other reliable and relevant information concerning wages. If
5 31 the labor commissioner reasonably deems it necessary, the
5 32 labor commissioner may conduct surveys within the county or
5 33 city to acquire information regarding wages paid.
5 34 3. The labor commissioner shall publish annually all
5 35 prevailing wage rates determined and established pursuant to
6 1 rules adopted under subsection 1.
6 2 4. Upon request by a governmental body the labor
6 3 commissioner shall determine the prevailing wage rates
6 4 applicable to work to be performed pursuant to a contract for
6 5 a public improvement. The labor commissioner shall provide by
6 6 rule an expedited procedure for resolution of disputes
6 7 concerning the applicable prevailing wage rate for work to be
6 8 performed pursuant to a contract for a public improvement.
6 9 Such a dispute shall not be a contested case under chapter
6 10 17A.
6 11 5. The labor commissioner shall by rule provide that if
6 12 work pursuant to a contract for a public improvement is to be
6 13 performed in more than a single county or a single city, the
6 14 highest prevailing wage rates applicable shall apply to all
6 15 work performed pursuant to the contract for a public
6 16 improvement.
6 17 6. The labor commissioner shall adopt rules providing for
6 18 the maintenance of wage records and the reports required by
6 19 section 90.3, subsection 4, and section 90.5, subsection 1,
6 20 paragraph "c". At a minimum, the records required by section
6 21 90.3, subsection 4, shall contain the name, address, and
6 22 social security number of each mechanic and laborer, the
6 23 number of hours worked each day, and the gross wages paid each
6 24 day. At a minimum, the reports required by section 90.5,
6 25 subsection 1, paragraph "c", to be submitted to the
6 26 governmental body shall contain the same information as
6 27 contained in the records required under section 90.3,
6 28 subsection 4, and shall be submitted at least once a week.
6 29 The reports submitted to the governmental body as required by
6 30 section 90.5, subsection 1, paragraph "c", shall be public
6 31 records under chapter 22, and shall not be exempt under
6 32 chapter 22.
6 33 7. The labor commissioner may enter upon the premises of
6 34 any work site where work is being performed pursuant to a
6 35 contract for a public improvement at any reasonable time and
7 1 may interview any mechanic or skilled or unskilled laborer for
7 2 the purposes of determining whether the contracting party is
7 3 complying with the provisions of this chapter. No worker
7 4 shall be discharged or otherwise disciplined or discriminated
7 5 against by the contracting party for providing information to
7 6 the labor commissioner in such an interview. Any worker
7 7 discharged, disciplined, or otherwise discriminated against by
7 8 the contracting party for providing information to the labor
7 9 commissioner in such an interview shall have a right of action
7 10 for reinstatement, back pay, and such other equitable relief
7 11 as may be appropriate in the district court.
7 12 8. The labor commissioner shall maintain and publish, at
7 13 least semiannually, a listing of all contracting parties which
7 14 have been found by a governmental body, the labor
7 15 commissioner, or a court to have violated this chapter.
7 16 9. The labor commissioner shall adopt, pursuant to chapter
7 17 17A, rules and regulations necessary to perform duties or
7 18 exercise powers under this chapter.
7 19 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 90.7 REMEDIES.
7 20 In addition to any remedies otherwise available under law,
7 21 the following remedies for violation of any provisions of this
7 22 chapter shall be available:
7 23 1. A mechanic or laborer, who performed work pursuant to a
7 24 contract for a public improvement but to whom the contracting
7 25 party failed to pay the applicable prevailing wage rates, may
7 26 maintain an action in the district court to recover the
7 27 difference between the applicable prevailing wage rates and
7 28 the wages the worker received from the contracting party. The
7 29 provisions of chapter 91A shall apply to the action. However,
7 30 the labor commissioner may institute an action for the
7 31 collection of unpaid wages on behalf of all employees affected
7 32 by the actions of the same contracting party on the same
7 33 project without the necessity of obtaining a wage assignment
7 34 from any of the affected employees. The fact that the
7 35 mechanic or laborer knowingly accepted payment of wages less
8 1 than the applicable prevailing wage rate does not relieve the
8 2 contracting party from liability.
8 3 2. The labor commissioner may maintain an action in
8 4 district court against a contracting party for a knowing and
8 5 intentional failure to pay the prevailing wage rates. The
8 6 district court shall provide for a penalty against the
8 7 contracting party of five hundred dollars per day for each day
8 8 it finds the contracting party has failed to pay the required
8 9 prevailing wage rates.
8 10 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 90.8 PENALTY.
8 11 Violation of any provisions of this chapter by a
8 12 contracting party or its representative or by a representative
8 13 or employee of a governmental body is a serious misdemeanor.
8 14 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 90.9 FEDERAL FUND PROJECTS.
8 15 The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any
8 16 contract for a public improvement which is funded in whole or
8 17 in part by federal funds and to which the provisions of 40
8 18 U.S.C. }} 276a to 276a-7 apply to all portions of the work to
8 19 be performed under the contract for a public improvement.
8 20 EXPLANATION
8 21 This bill incorporates the substantive portions of the
8 22 federal Davis-Bacon Act, commonly known as the prevailing wage
8 23 law, into the Code.
8 24 LSB 2148SS 77
8 25 kh/cf/24
Text: SF02229 Text: SF02231 Text: SF02200 - SF02299 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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