New York City's Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings Administrative Law Judge Faye Lewis found that a contractor working on public works projects in the City of New York had failed to pay certain of its employees the "prevailing wage rates.
Judge Lewis recommended payment of restitution to the workers, imposition of a 25% civil penalty, and a five-year debarment form bidding on public works projects consistent with the provisions of New York State's Labor Law §220-b(3)(b)(1)].
Section 220* of the Labor Law provides that entities that enter into public works contracts with the City must pay their employees “not less than the prevailing rate of wages” for work on the public works projects and set out penalties to be paid by a contractor who willfully failed to pay prevailing wages and supplemental benefits to the contractor's workers employed to work on public works projects.
Judge Faye Lewis, in finding the workers were employed to work on public works projects, rejected the contractor's claim that the workers were warehouse workers and credited the worker's testimony about their performing their work "in the field".
* Section 220.3 of the Labor Law provides that entities that enter into public works contracts must pay their employees “not less than the prevailing rate of wages” for work on the public works projects".
Click HERE to access the full text of Judge Lewis' findings and recommendation in OATH Index No. 2174/21.