Bill Text: DE SB14 | 2011-2012 | 146th General Assembly | Draft

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Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 29 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Prevailing Wage Requirements.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 8-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-01-25 - Assigned to Labor & Industrial Relations Committee in Senate [SB14 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2011-SB14-Draft.html

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SPONSOR:	Sen. Booth & Sen. Venables
	Sens. Bonini, Bunting, Simpson; Reps. Hocker, Hudson, Lavelle, D. Short, Wilson

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

146th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 14

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENTS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1.Amend §6960(a) of Title 29 of the Delaware Code by adding the phrase:

", and that particular type of construction (building, heavy, or highway construction),"

between the words "that particular county" and "for two consecutive years." as they appear in the second sentence of the subsection.

Section 2.Further Amend §6960(a) of Title 29 of the Delaware Code by deleting the fourth sentence in its entirety and replacing thereto as follows:

"In the event the collective bargaining rate for a particular trade, in a particular county and type of construction, fails to prevail in the survey during any two-year period, the most recent prevailing wage rate determined by the survey for that trade, in that particular county and type of construction, shall be the prevailing wage rate for a period of five (5) years.This rate shall be subject to an annual raise that is equal to the most recent pay raise provided to State merit employees, on a percentage basis, prior to the date upon which new prevailing wage rates are established.Regardless of whether the collective bargaining rate, or the most recent rate as determined by the survey, is established as the rate for any five (5) year period, no annual raise or increase to that rate may exceed the most recent pay raise provided to State employees, on a percentage basis, prior to the date on which the new prevailing wage rates are established.At the conclusion of any five (5) year period during which the prevailing wage rate for a particular trade, in a particular county and type of construction, has been established as set forth herein, the Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs shall return to a survey method for determining the prevailing wage rate for that trade for a two (2) year period, after which the rate may be determined as set forth above.In order for the wage rate for a particular trade, in a particular county and type of construction, to ‘prevail', that rate must be the wage rate paid to a majority of employees performing similar work as reported in the Department's annual prevailing wage survey, or in the absence of a majority, the average wage paid to all employees reported.".

Section 3.Amend §6960 of Title 29 of the Delaware Code by adding a new subsection "(m)" to read as follows:

"(m) In order to determine the prevailing wages for the various classes of laborers and mechanics in each county, the Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs, shall conduct an annual survey.The survey shall be conducted during the first three (3) calendar months of every year, and the final survey results shall be published on or before March 15 of every year.The survey will be based upon data collected for the last six (6) months of the prior calendar year.The survey shall be provided to all employers who reported workers to the Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Unemployment Insurance, during the last six (6) months of the prior calendar year, in the following Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes:

(1) 1522Residential Buildings, Other Than Single-Family;

(2) 1541Industrial Buildings and Warehouses;

(3) 1542Nonresidential Buildings, Other Than Industrial Buildings and Warehouses;

(4) 1611Highway and Street Construction, Except Elevated Highways;

(5) 1622Bridge, Tunnel, and Elevated Highway Construction;

(6) 1623Water, Sewer, Pipeline, and Communications and Power Line Construction;

(7) 1629Heavy Construction, Not Elsewhere Classified;

(8) 1711Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning;

(9) 1721Painting and Paper Hanging;

(10) 1731Electrical Work;

(11) 1741Masonry, Stone Setting, and Other Stone Work;

(12) 1742Plastering, Drywall, Acoustical, and Insulation Work;

(13) 1743Terrazzo, Tile, Marble, and Mosaic Work;

(14) 1751Carpentry Work;

(15) 1752Floor Laying and Other Floor Work, Not Elsewhere Classified;

(16) 1761Roofing, Siding, and Sheet Metal Work;

(17) 1771Concrete Work;

(18) 1781Water Well Drilling;

(19) 1791Structural Steel Erection;

(20) 1793 Glass and Glazing Work;

(21) 1794Excavation Work;

(22) 1795Wrecking and Demolition Work;

(23) 1796Installation or Erection of Building Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified; and

(24) 1799Special Trade Contractors, Not Elsewhere Classified.

Every employer in these SIC Codes who reported workers during the period for which survey data is collected must respond to the survey within the period specified by the Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs.Any employer who does not respond to the survey, and who cannot demonstrate good cause for its failure to respond to the survey, shall be prohibited from submitting a bid on any public works project that is subject to this Section, for a period of one (1) year, or until it has submitted data for a subsequent prevailing wage survey, whichever period is shorter.".

SYNOPSIS

This Bill corrects inconsistencies with respect to including the type of construction as a qualifier for a particular trade's prevailing wage rate, and provides for a method to establish wage rates at the end of any five year term.It also provides that if the rate is not determined to be the collective bargaining rate, then the rate determined by the annual survey shall be the rate for a five year period, subject to raises tied directly into the prior year's pay raise for State employees.This Bill also makes the submission of data for the annual prevailing wage survey mandatory for employers who reported workers to the Division of Unemployment Insurance for the period covered by the survey.Employers who fail to provide data, and who cannot show good cause, are prohibited from submitting bids on any public works projects subject to this Section for a period of one year, or until they submit data in a subsequent survey.

AUTHOR:Sen. Booth