The state Comptroller will soon have the authority to withhold payments to contractors or subcontractors accused of violating Connecticut’s prevailing wage laws on public works projects.
The authority was granted by Public Act 26-17, formerly Senate Bill 268, which overwhelmingly passed this year in both legislative chambers and was signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont on May 14.
The law goes into effect on Oct. 1. It is intended to strengthen enforcement against wage theft and prevailing wage violations involving state-funded construction projects, according to state officials.
It authorizes the state comptroller to withhold payments owed to a contractor or subcontractor if the state labor commissioner issues a stop-work order related to violations of Connecticut’s prevailing wage statute.
The law gives the comptroller additional leverage to ensure workers on state projects are properly paid before contractors receive additional public funding.
The prevailing wage is the hourly rate and benefits paid to most workers on public works projects for similar work in a specific area.
During a public hearing held on the bill by the Labor and Public Employees Committee in February, state Comptroller Sean Scanlon spoke in favor of the bill, which he had proposed last year but ultimately died in the House.
Scanlon noted that the state Department of Labor can investigate cases when contractors are accused of cheating employees and place stop-work orders on public projects until workers have been repaid, but that his office lacked similar authority.
“There is currently no ability for my office to withhold state payments to such contractors, allowing them to still be paid by taxpayer funds even when they are being actively investigated for a prevailing wage violation,” he said. “That’s wrong, and we shouldn’t reward employers who fail to follow the law with taxpayer dollars.”
Christopher Fryxell, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Connecticut (CTABC), testified against the bill, saying his organization believes “innocent contractors will be harmed in the process.”
Because the state contracts with just the prime contractor, Fryxell said, it is not clear how the comptroller would withhold payments from a contractor or subcontractor accused of violating prevailing wage laws without unfairly “harming innocent contractors in the process.”
The bill was subsequently approved by a 31-5 vote in the Senate on April 15, and was approved in the House on May 4 by a 107-40 vote with four legislators absent.
