Pa. House passes bill to update Wage Act

Legislation to update the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act and address the issues of split rates and custom fabrication has been passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Sponsored by state Rep. Jason Dawkins, D-Phila., HB 2153 would prohibit the practice of paying split rates on publicly funded construction projects and ensure that custom fabrication work done by tradespeople away from the main job site is paid to the prevailing wage.

“This is as simple as ensuring that companies awarded public construction project contracts are paying their workers fairly and to the prevailing wage standard set by the secretary of Labor and Industry,” Dawkins said in a statement.

The legislation moves to the Pennsylvania Senate for consideration.

Dawkins, chair of the House Labor and Industry Committee, stated in a release that as off-site work is not covered by the Prevailing Wage Act, contractors have used this loophole to pay employees a sub-standard?“shop” rate and only pay the prevailing wage when the workers are on the jobsite installing these assemblies. Dawkins added that this practice cheats the intent of the law and undercuts honest contractors in the bidding process, while exploiting their labor force for increased profit.

With the use of modular construction expected to increase according to the release, further exploitation of this loophole will occur if it is not closed.

Similar legislation has been passed in neighboring states New Jersey and Delaware and has bipartisan and bicameral support in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

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