SB 696

Under the current prevailing wage law, certain laborers, workers, mechanics,

and truck drivers employed on a state or local project of public works must be paid

at the rate paid for a majority of the hours worked in the person's trade or occupation

in the county in which the project is located, as determined by the Department of

Workforce Development (DWD), and may not be required or permitted to work a

greater number of hours per day and per week than the prevailing hours of labor, that

is, no more than ten hours per day and 40 hours per week, unless they are paid 1.5

times their basic rate of pay (overtime pay) for all hours worked in excess of the

prevailing hours of labor.

2009 Wisconsin Act 28

made various changes to the prevailing wage law,

including: 1) expanding the applicability of that law to cover publicly funded private

construction projects and projects of public works contracted by regional transit

authorities; 2) lowering the threshold for applicability of that law to a project of

public works; 3) requiring contractors to submit payroll records to DWD; 4) requiring

DWD to charge a requester for the cost of inspecting payroll records only if the

request is frivolous; and 5) permitting DWD to order back pay and liquidated

damages for a violation of that law. This bill eliminates those changes, thereby

restoring prior law.

Specifically:

1.

Publicly funded private construction projects and regional transit

authorities.

2009 Wisconsin Act 28

expanded the applicability of the prevailing

wage law to cover publicly funded private construction projects that receive

$1,000,000 or more in direct financial assistance from a local governmental unit.

Under prior law, only projects of public works contracted for by the state or a local

governmental unit were subject to the prevailing wage law. This bill eliminates

coverage of publicly funded private construction projects under the prevailing wage

law, so that under the bill only projects of public works are covered under the

prevailing wage law.

2009 Wisconsin Act 28

expanded the definition of "local governmental unit" for

purposes of applicability of the prevailing wage law to projects of public works to

include regional transit authorities. This bill deletes the inclusion of regional transit

authorities in that definition.

2.

Threshold for applicability to public works projects.

2009 Wisconsin