Bill Text: IL SB2408 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Prevailing Wage Act. Provides that any laborer, worker, or mechanic who is employed by the contractor or by any lower tier sub-contractor and is paid for services in a sum less than the prevailing wage rates for work performed on a project shall have a right of action for whatever difference there may be between the amount so paid and the prevailing rates required to be paid for work performed on the project. Makes other changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-31 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB2408 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB2408-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB2408 Introduced 2/10/2023, by Sen. Willie Preston SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
820 ILCS 130/4 from Ch. 48, par. 39s-4
820 ILCS 130/11 from Ch. 48, par. 39s-11
Amends the Prevailing Wage Act. Provides that any laborer, worker, or mechanic who is employed by the contractor or by any lower tier sub-contractor and is paid for services in a sum less than the prevailing wage rates for work performed on a project shall have a right of action for whatever difference there may be between the amount so paid and the prevailing rates required to be paid for work performed on the project. Makes other changes.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning employment.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Prevailing Wage Act is amended by changing
Sections 4 and 11 as follows:
(820 ILCS 130/4) (from Ch. 48, par. 39s-4)
Sec. 4. Ascertaining prevailing wage.
(a) The prevailing rate of wages paid to individuals
covered under this Act shall not be less than the rate that
prevails for work of a similar character on public works in the
locality in which the work is performed under collective
bargaining agreements or understandings between employers or
employer associations and bona fide labor organizations
relating to each craft or type of worker or mechanic needed to
execute the contract or perform such work, and collective
bargaining agreements or understandings successor thereto,
provided that said employers or members of said employer
associations employ at least 30% of the laborers, workers, or
mechanics in the same trade or occupation in the locality
where the work is being performed.
(b) If the prevailing rates of wages and fringe benefits
cannot reasonably and fairly be applied in any locality
because no such agreements or understandings exist, the

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Department of Labor shall determine the rates and fringe
benefits for the same or most similar work in the nearest and
most similar neighboring locality in which such agreements or
understandings exist. The Department of Labor shall keep a
record of its findings available for inspection by any
interested party in the office of the Department of Labor.
(c) In the event it is determined, after a written
objection is filed and hearing is held in accordance with
Section 9 of this Act, that less than 30% of the laborers,
workers, or mechanics in a particular trade or occupation in
the locality where the work is performed receive a
collectively bargained rate of wage, then the average wage
paid to such laborers, workers, or mechanics in the same trade
or occupation in the locality for the 12-month period
preceding the Department of Labor's annual determination shall
be the prevailing rate of wage.
(d) The public body awarding any contract for public work
or otherwise undertaking any public works shall specify in the
call for bids for the contract, or where the public body
performs the work without letting the contract in a written
instrument provided to the contractor, that the general
prevailing rate of wages in the locality for each craft or type
of worker or mechanic needed to execute the contract or
perform such work, also the general prevailing rate for legal
holiday and overtime work, as ascertained by the Department of
Labor shall be paid for each craft or type of worker needed to

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execute the contract or to perform such work, and it shall be
mandatory upon the contractor to whom the contract is awarded
and upon any subcontractor under him, and where the public
body performs the work, upon the public body, to pay not less
than the specified rates to all laborers, workers and
mechanics employed by them in the execution of the contract or
such work. Compliance with this Act is a matter of statewide
concern, and a public body may not opt out of any provisions
herein.
(e) The public body or other entity awarding the contract
shall cause to be inserted in the project specifications and
the contract a stipulation to the effect that not less than the
prevailing rate of wages as found by the Department of Labor or
determined by the court on review shall be paid to all
laborers, workers and mechanics performing work under the
contract.
(f) When a public body or other entity covered by this Act
has awarded work to a contractor without a public bid,
contract or project specification, such public body or other
entity shall comply with subsection (e) by providing the
contractor with written notice on the purchase order related
to the work to be done or on a separate document indicating
that not less than the prevailing rate of wages ascertained by
the Department of Labor or determined by the court on review
shall be paid to all laborers, workers, and mechanics
performing work on the project.

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(g) Where a complaint is made and the Department of Labor
determines that a violation occurred, the Department of Labor
shall determine if proper written notice under this Section 4
was given. If proper written notice was not provided to the
contractor by the public body or other entity, the Department
of Labor shall order the public body or other entity to pay any
interest, penalties or fines that would have been owed by the
contractor if proper written notice were provided. The failure
by a public body or other entity to provide written notice does
not relieve the contractor of the duty to comply with the
prevailing wage rate, nor of the obligation to pay any back
wages, as determined under this Act. For the purposes of this
subsection, back wages shall be limited to the difference
between the actual amount paid and the prevailing rate of
wages required to be paid for the project. The failure of a
public body or other entity to provide written notice under
this Section 4 does not diminish the right of a laborer,
worker, or mechanic to the prevailing rate of wages as
determined under this Act.
Any laborer, worker, or mechanic who is employed by the
contractor or by any sub-contractor and is paid for services
in a sum less than the prevailing wage rates for work performed
on a project shall have a right of action for whatever
difference there may be between (i) the amount so paid and (ii)
the prevailing rates required to be paid for work performed on
the project.

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(h) It shall also be mandatory upon the contractor to whom
the contract is awarded to insert into each subcontract and
into the project specifications for each subcontract a written
stipulation to the effect that not less than the prevailing
rate of wages shall be paid to all laborers, workers, and
mechanics performing work under the contract. It shall also be
mandatory upon each subcontractor to cause to be inserted into
each lower tiered subcontract and into the project
specifications for each lower tiered subcontract a stipulation
to the effect that not less than the prevailing rate of wages
shall be paid to all laborers, workers, and mechanics
performing work under the contract. A contractor or
subcontractor who fails to comply with this subsection is in
violation of this Act.
(i) When a contractor has awarded work to a subcontractor
without a contract or contract specification, the contractor
shall comply with subsection (h) by providing a subcontractor
with a written statement indicating that not less than the
prevailing rate of wages shall be paid to all laborers,
workers, and mechanics performing work on the project. A
contractor or subcontractor who fails to comply with this
subsection is in violation of this Act.
(j) Where a complaint is made and the Department of Labor
determines that a violation has occurred, the Department of
Labor shall determine if proper written notice under this
Section 4 was given. If proper written notice was not provided

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to the subcontractor by the contractor, the Department of
Labor shall order the contractor to pay any interest,
penalties, or fines that would have been owed by the
subcontractor if proper written notice were provided. The
failure by a contractor to provide written notice to a
subcontractor does not relieve the subcontractor of the duty
to comply with the prevailing wage rate, nor of the obligation
to pay any back wages, as determined under this Act. For the
purposes of this subsection, back wages shall be limited to
the difference between the actual amount paid and the
prevailing rate of wages required for the project. However, if
proper written notice was not provided to the contractor by
the public body or other entity under this Section 4, the
Department of Labor shall order the public body or other
entity to pay any interest, penalties, or fines that would
have been owed by the subcontractor if proper written notice
were provided. The failure by a public body or other entity to
provide written notice does not relieve the subcontractor of
the duty to comply with the prevailing wage rate, nor of the
obligation to pay any back wages, as determined under this
Act. For the purposes of this subsection, back wages shall be
limited to the difference between the actual amount paid and
the prevailing rate of wages required for the project. The
failure to provide written notice by a public body, other
entity, or contractor does not diminish the right of a
laborer, worker, or mechanic to the prevailing rate of wages

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as determined under this Act.
(k) A public body or other entity shall also require in all
contractor's and subcontractor's bonds that the contractor or
subcontractor include such provision as will guarantee the
faithful performance of such prevailing wage clause as
provided by contract or other written instrument. All bid
specifications shall list the specified rates to all laborers,
workers and mechanics in the locality for each craft or type of
worker or mechanic needed to execute the contract.
(l) If the Department of Labor revises the prevailing rate
of hourly wages to be paid by the public body or other entity,
the revised rate shall apply to such contract, and the public
body or other entity shall be responsible to notify the
contractor and each subcontractor, of the revised rate.
The public body or other entity shall discharge its duty
to notify of the revised rates by inserting a written
stipulation in all contracts or other written instruments that
states the prevailing rate of wages are revised by the
Department of Labor and are available on the Department's
official website. This shall be deemed to be proper
notification of any rate changes under this subsection.
(m) Two or more investigatory hearings under this Section
on the issue of establishing a new prevailing wage
classification for a particular craft or type of worker shall
be consolidated in a single hearing before the Department. The
party requesting a consolidated investigatory hearing shall

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have the burden of establishing that there is no existing
prevailing wage classification for the particular craft or
type of worker in any of the localities under consideration.
(n) It shall be mandatory upon the contractor or
construction manager to whom a contract for public works is
awarded to post, at a location on the project site of the
public works that is easily accessible to the workers engaged
on the project, the prevailing wage rates for each craft or
type of worker or mechanic needed to execute the contract or
project or work to be performed. In lieu of posting on the
project site of the public works, a contractor which has a
business location where laborers, workers, and mechanics
regularly visit may: (1) post in a conspicuous location at
that business the current prevailing wage rates for each
county in which the contractor is performing work; or (2)
provide such laborer, worker, or mechanic engaged on the
public works project a written notice indicating the
prevailing wage rates for the public works project. A failure
to post or provide a prevailing wage rate as required by this
Section is a violation of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 100-1177, eff. 6-1-19.)
(820 ILCS 130/11) (from Ch. 48, par. 39s-11)
Sec. 11. No public works project shall be instituted
unless the provisions of this Act have been complied with. The
provisions of this Act shall not be applicable to Federal

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construction projects which require a prevailing wage
determination by the United States Secretary of Labor. The
Illinois Department of Labor represented by the Attorney
General is empowered to sue for injunctive relief against the
awarding of any contract or the continuation of work under any
contract for public works at a time when the prevailing wage
prerequisites have not been met. Any contract for public works
awarded at a time when the prevailing wage prerequisites had
not been met shall be void as against public policy and the
contractor is prohibited from recovering any damages for the
voiding of the contract or pursuant to the terms of the
contract. The contractor is limited to a claim for amounts
actually paid for labor and materials supplied to the public
body. Where objections to a determination of the prevailing
rate of wages or a court action relative thereto is pending,
the public body shall not continue work on the project unless
sufficient funds are available to pay increased wages if such
are finally determined or unless the Department of Labor
certifies such determination of the prevailing rate of wages
as correct.
Any laborer, worker or mechanic employed by the contractor
or by any sub-contractor under him who is paid for his services
in a sum less than the prevailing stipulated rates for work
done under such contract, shall have a right of action for
whatever difference there may be between the amount so paid,
and the rates provided by the contract together with costs and

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such reasonable attorney's fees as shall be allowed by the
court. Such contractor or subcontractor shall also be liable
to the Department of Labor for 20% of such underpayments and
shall be additionally liable to the laborer, worker or
mechanic for punitive damages in the amount of 2% of the amount
of any such penalty to the State for underpayments for each
month following the date of payment during which such
underpayments remain unpaid. Where a second or subsequent
action to recover underpayments is brought against a
contractor or subcontractor and the contractor or
subcontractor is found liable for underpayments to any
laborer, worker, or mechanic, the contractor or subcontractor
shall also be liable to the Department of Labor for 50% of the
underpayments payable as a result of the second or subsequent
action, and shall be additionally liable for 5% of the amount
of any such penalty to the State for underpayments for each
month following the date of payment during which the
underpayments remain unpaid. The Department shall also have a
right of action on behalf of any individual who has a right of
action under this Section. An action brought to recover same
shall be deemed to be a suit for wages, and any and all
judgments entered therein shall have the same force and effect
as other judgments for wages. The action shall be brought
within 5 years from the date of the failure to pay the wages or
compensation. At the request of any laborer, workman or
mechanic employed by the contractor or by any subcontractor

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under him who is paid less than the prevailing wage rate
required by this Act, the Department of Labor may take an
assignment of such wage claim in trust for the assigning
laborer, workman or mechanic and may bring any legal action
necessary to collect such claim, and the contractor or
subcontractor shall be required to pay the costs incurred in
collecting such claim.
(Source: P.A. 98-328, eff. 1-1-14.)