AB50,1672 Section 1672. 103.50 of the statutes is created to read:

AB50,892,18 103.50 Highway contracts. (1) Definitions. In this section:

AB50,893,2 (a) “Area” means the county in which a proposed project that is subject to this section is located or, if the department determines that there is insufficient wage data in that county, “area” means those counties that are contiguous to that county or, if the department determines that there is insufficient wage data in those counties, “area” means those counties that are contiguous to those counties or, if the department determines that there is insufficient wage data in those counties, “area” means the entire state.

AB50,893,3 (b) “Hourly basic rate of pay” has the meaning given in s. 103.49 (1) (b).

AB50,893,4 (bg) “Insufficient wage data” has the meaning given in s. 103.49 (1) (bg).

AB50,893,5 (c) “Prevailing hours of labor” has the meaning given in s. 103.49 (1) (c).

AB50,893,10 (d) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., “prevailing wage rate” for any trade or occupation in any area means the hourly basic rate of pay, plus the hourly contribution for health insurance benefits, vacation benefits, pension benefits, and any other bona fide economic benefit, paid directly or indirectly, for a majority of the hours worked in the trade or occupation in the area.

AB50,893,18 2. If there is no rate at which a majority of the hours worked in the trade or occupation in the area is paid, “prevailing wage rate” means the average hourly basic rate of pay, weighted by the number of hours worked, plus the average hourly contribution, weighted by the number of hours worked, for health insurance benefits, vacation benefits, pension benefits, and any other bona fide economic benefit, paid directly or indirectly for all hours worked at the hourly basic rate of pay of the highest-paid 51 percent of hours worked in that trade or occupation in that area.

AB50,893,19 (e) “Truck driver” has the meaning given in s. 103.49 (1) (g).

AB50,893,23 (2) Prevailing wage rates and hours of labor. No contractor, subcontractor, agent, or other person performing any work on a project under a contract based on bids as provided in s. 84.06 (2) to which the state is a party for the construction or improvement of any highway may do any of the following:

AB50,894,3 (a) Pay an individual performing the work described in sub. (2m) less than the prevailing wage rate in the area in which the work is to be done determined under sub. (3).

AB50,894,8 (b) Allow an individual performing the work described in sub. (2m) to work a greater number of hours per day or per week than the prevailing hours of labor, unless the contractor, subcontractor, or contractor’s or subcontractor’s agent pays the individual for all hours worked in excess of the prevailing hours of labor at a rate of at least 1.5 times the individual’s hourly basic rate of pay.

AB50,894,13 (2g) Nonapplicability. This section does not apply to a single-trade project of public works, as defined in s. 103.49 (1) (em), for which the estimated project cost of completion is less than $48,000 or a multiple-trade project of public works, as defined in s. 103.49 (1) (br), for which the estimated project cost of completion is less than $100,000.

AB50,894,19 (2m) Covered employees. (a) Subject to par. (b), any person subject to this section shall pay all of the following employees the prevailing wage rate determined under sub. (3) and may not allow such employees to work a greater number of hours per day or per week than the prevailing hours of labor, unless the person pays for all hours worked in excess of the prevailing hours of labor at a rate of at least 1.5 times the employees’ hourly basic rate of pay:

AB50,894,21 1. All laborers, workers, mechanics, and truck drivers employed on the site of a project that is subject to this section.

AB50,895,3 2. All laborers, workers, mechanics, and truck drivers employed in the manufacturing or furnishing of materials, articles, supplies, or equipment on the site of a project that is subject to this section or from a facility dedicated exclusively, or nearly so, to a project that is subject to this section by a contractor, subcontractor, agent, or other person performing any work on the site of the project.

AB50,895,11 (b) A laborer, worker, mechanic, or truck driver who is employed to process, manufacture, pick up, or deliver materials or products from a commercial establishment that has a fixed place of business from which the establishment supplies processed or manufactured materials or products or from a facility that is not dedicated exclusively, or nearly so, to a project that is subject to this section is not entitled to receive the prevailing wage rate determined under sub. (3) or to receive at least 1.5 times his or her hourly basic rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of the prevailing hours of labor unless any of the following applies:

AB50,895,16 1. The laborer, worker, mechanic, or truck driver is employed to go to the source of mineral aggregate such as sand, gravel, or stone and deliver that mineral aggregate to the site of a project that is subject to this section by depositing the material directly in final place, from the transporting vehicle or through spreaders from the transporting vehicle.

AB50,895,20 2. The laborer, worker, mechanic, or truck driver is employed to go to the site of a project that is subject to this section, pick up excavated material or spoil from the site of the project, and transport that excavated material or spoil away from the site of the project and return to the site of the project.

AB50,895,23 (c) A contractor, subcontractor, agent, or other person performing work on a project subject to this section shall pay a truck driver who is an owner-operator of a truck separately for his or her work and for the use of his or her truck.

AB50,896,6 (3) Investigations; determinations. The department shall conduct investigations and hold public hearings necessary to define the trades or occupations that are commonly employed in the highway construction industry and to inform the department of the prevailing wage rates in all areas of the state for those trades or occupations, in order to ascertain and determine the prevailing wage rates accordingly.

AB50,896,18 (4) Certification of prevailing wage rates. The department of workforce development shall, by May 1 of each year, certify to the department of transportation the prevailing wage rates in each area for all trades or occupations commonly employed in the highway construction industry. The certification shall, in addition to the current prevailing wage rates, include future prevailing wage rates when such prevailing wage rates can be determined for any such trade or occupation in any area and shall specify the effective date of those future prevailing wage rates. The certification shall also include wage rates for work performed on Sundays or the holidays specified in s. 103.49 (1) (c) and shift differentials based on the time of day or night when work is performed. If a construction project extends into more than one area, the department shall determine only one standard of prevailing wage rates for the entire project.

AB50,897,2 (4m) Wage rate data. In determining prevailing wage rates for projects that are subject to this section, the department shall use data from projects that are subject to this section, s. 66.0903 or 103.49, or 40 USC 3142. In determining prevailing wage rates for those projects, the department may not use data from any construction work that is performed by a state agency or a local governmental unit, as defined in s. 66.0903 (1) (d).

AB50,897,6 (5) Appeals to governor. If the department of transportation considers any determination of the department of workforce development of the prevailing wage rates in an area to be incorrect, it may appeal to the governor, whose determination is final.

AB50,897,22 (6) Contents of contracts. The department of transportation shall include a reference to the prevailing wage rates determined under sub. (3) and the prevailing hours of labor in the notice published for the purpose of securing bids for a project. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if any contract or subcontract for a project that is subject to this section is entered into, the prevailing wage rates determined under sub. (3) and the prevailing hours of labor shall be physically incorporated into and made a part of the contract or subcontract. For a minor subcontract, as determined by the department of workforce development, that department shall prescribe by rule the method of notifying the minor subcontractor of the prevailing wage rates and prevailing hours of labor applicable to the minor subcontract. The prevailing wage rates and prevailing hours of labor applicable to a contract or subcontract may not be changed during the time that the contract or subcontract is in force. The department of transportation shall post the prevailing wage rates determined by the department, the prevailing hours of labor, and the provisions of subs. (2) and (7) in at least one conspicuous place that is easily accessible to the employees on the site of the project.

AB50,898,3 (7) Penalties. (a) Except as provided in pars. (b), (d), and (f), any contractor, subcontractor, or contractor’s or subcontractor’s agent who violates this section may be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned for not more than 6 months or both. Each day that a violation continues is a separate offense.

AB50,898,11 (b) Whoever induces any individual who seeks to be or is employed on any project that is subject to this section to give up, waive, or return any part of the wages to which the individual is entitled under the contract governing the project, or who reduces the hourly basic rate of pay normally paid to an individual for work on a project that is not subject to this section during a week in which the individual works both on a project that is subject to this section and on a project that is not subject to this section, by threat not to employ, by threat of dismissal from employment, or by any other means is guilty of an offense under s. 946.15 (1).

AB50,898,20 (c) Any individual employed on a project that is subject to this section who knowingly allows a contractor, subcontractor, or contractor’s or subcontractor’s agent to pay him or her less than the prevailing wage rate set forth in the contract governing the project, who gives up, waives, or returns any part of the compensation to which he or she is entitled under the contract, or who gives up, waives, or returns any part of the compensation to which he or she is normally entitled for work on a project that is not subject to this section during a week in which the individual works both on a project that is subject to this section and on a project that is not subject to this section, is guilty of an offense under s. 946.15 (2).

AB50,899,3 (d) Whoever induces any individual who seeks to be or is employed on any project that is subject to this section to allow any part of the wages to which the individual is entitled under the contract governing the project to be deducted from the individual’s pay is guilty of an offense under s. 946.15 (3), unless the deduction would be allowed under 29 CFR 3.5 or 3.6 from an individual who is working on a project that is subject to 40 USC 3142.