BILL REQ. #: S-1778.1
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/21/11.
AN ACT Relating to prevailing wage affidavits; amending RCW 39.12.040; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 39.12.040 and 2009 c 219 s 2 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, before
payment is made by or on behalf of the state, or any county,
municipality, or political subdivision created by its laws, of any sum
or sums due on account of a public works contract, it shall be the duty
of the officer or person charged with the custody and disbursement of
public funds to require the contractor and each and every subcontractor
from the contractor or a subcontractor to submit to such officer a
"Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages". For a contract in
excess of ten thousand dollars, the statement of intent to pay
prevailing wages shall include:
(a) The contractor's registration certificate number; and
(b) The prevailing rate of wage for each classification of workers
entitled to prevailing wages under RCW 39.12.020 and the estimated
number of workers in each classification.
Each statement of intent to pay prevailing wages must be approved
by the industrial statistician of the department of labor and
industries before it is submitted to said officer. Unless otherwise
authorized by the department of labor and industries, each voucher
claim submitted by a contractor for payment on a project estimate shall
state that the prevailing wages have been paid in accordance with the
prefiled statement or statements of intent to pay prevailing wages on
file with the public agency. Following the final acceptance of a
public works project, it shall be the duty of the officer charged with
the disbursement of public funds, to require the contractor and each
and every subcontractor from the contractor or a subcontractor to
submit to such officer an "Affidavit of Wages Paid" before the funds
retained according to the provisions of RCW 60.28.011 are released to
the contractor. If a subcontractor performing work on a public works
project fails to submit a statement of intent to pay prevailing wages
or an "Affidavit of Wages Paid" form, the contractor or subcontractor
with whom the subcontractor had a contractual relationship for the
project may file the forms on behalf of the subcontractor, pursuant to
rules adopted by the department of labor and industries. Intent or
affidavit forms may only be filed on behalf of a subcontractor who has
ceased operations or failed to file as required by this section.
Filings made on behalf of a subcontractor may not be accepted sooner
than thirty-one days after the acceptance date of the public works
project and the contractor filing on behalf of a subcontractor accepts
responsibility for payment of prevailing wages unpaid by the
subcontractor on the project pursuant to RCW 39.12.020 and 39.12.065.
Intentionally filing a false affidavit on behalf of a subcontractor
subjects the filer to the same penalties as are provided in RCW
39.12.050. Each affidavit of wages paid must be certified by the
industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries
before it is submitted to said officer.
(2) As an alternate to the procedures provided for in subsection
(1) of this section, for public works projects of two thousand five
hundred dollars or less and for projects where the limited public works
process under RCW 39.04.155(3) is followed:
(a) An awarding agency may authorize the contractor or
subcontractor to submit the statement of intent to pay prevailing wages
directly to the officer or person charged with the custody or
disbursement of public funds in the awarding agency without approval by
the industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries.
The awarding agency shall retain such statement of intent to pay
prevailing wages for a period of not less than three years.
(b) Upon final acceptance of the public works project, the awarding
agency shall require the contractor or subcontractor to submit an
affidavit of wages paid. Upon receipt of the affidavit of wages paid,
the awarding agency may pay the contractor or subcontractor in full,
including funds that would otherwise be retained according to the
provisions of RCW 60.28.011. Within thirty days of receipt of the
affidavit of wages paid, the awarding agency shall submit the affidavit
of wages paid to the industrial statistician of the department of labor
and industries for approval.
(c) A statement of intent to pay prevailing wages and an affidavit
of wages paid shall be on forms approved by the department of labor and
industries.
(d) In the event of a wage claim and a finding for the claimant by
the department of labor and industries where the awarding agency has
used the alternative process provided for in subsection (2) of this
section, the awarding agency shall pay the wages due directly to the
claimant. If the contractor or subcontractor did not pay the wages
stated in the affidavit of wages paid, the awarding agency may take
action at law to seek reimbursement from the contractor or
subcontractor of wages paid to the claimant, and may prohibit the
contractor or subcontractor from bidding on any public works contract
of the awarding agency for up to one year.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to allow an
awarding agency to subdivide any public works project of more than two
thousand five hundred dollars for the purpose of circumventing the
procedures required by ((RCW 39.12.040(1))) subsection (1) of this
section.