Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) The commissioner may assess a civil
penalty for each violation of any provision of the Prevailing Wage Rate Law
(ORS 279C.800 to
279C.870) and for each violation
of any provision of the administrative rules adopted under the Prevailing Wage
Rate Law.
(2) For purposes of this
section, a failure to pay the required prevailing rate of wage and a failure to
pay required fringe benefits are separate violations.
(3) Civil penalties may be assessed against
any contractor, subcontractor or public agency regulated under the Prevailing
Wage Rate Law and are in addition to, not in lieu of, any other penalty
prescribed by law.
(4) The
commissioner may assess a civil penalty against a contractor or subcontractor
for any of the following violations:
(a)
Failure to pay the applicable prevailing rate of wage in violation of ORS
279C.840;
(b) Failure to pay the applicable hourly
fringe benefit rate of wage in violation of ORS
279C.840;
(c) Failure to pay all wages due and owing to
the contractor's or subcontractor's workers on the regular payday established
and maintained under ORS
652.120 in violation of ORS
279C.840(1).
(d) Failure to post the applicable prevailing
wage rates in violation of ORS
279C.840(4);
(e) Failure to post the notice describing the
health and welfare or pension plans in violation of ORS
279C.840(5);
(f) Failure to include a provision in a
subcontract that workers shall be paid not less than the specified minimum
hourly rate of wage in violation of ORS
279C.830(1)(c);
(g) If a public works project is subject to
both ORS 279C.800 to
279C.870 and to the Davis-Bacon
Act (40 U.S.C. 3141 et
seq.), failure to include a provision in a subcontract that workers must be
paid not less than the higher of the applicable state or federal prevailing
rate of wage in violation of ORS
279C.830(1)(d);
(h) Failure to include in a subcontract,
either between a contractor and a subcontractor, or between a subcontractor and
another subcontractor, a provision requiring the subcontractor to have a public
works bond filed with the Construction Contractors Board before starting work
on the project, unless exempt, in violation of ORS
279C.830(2);
(i) Failure to file with the Construction
Contractors Board a public works bond, as required under ORS
279C.836, before starting work
on a contract or subcontract for a public works project subject to the
provisions of ORS 279C.800 to
279C.870;
(j) Failure to verify that a subcontractor
has filed a public works bond as required or has elected not to file a public
works bond under ORS 279C.836 prior to permitting a
subcontractor to start work on a public works project;
(k) Failure to file certified statements in
violation of ORS 279C.845;
(l) Filing inaccurate or incomplete certified
statements in violation of ORS
279C.845;
(m) Failure to retain 25 percent of the
amount the first-tier subcontractor earned when the first-tier subcontractor
fails to submit payroll and certified statement forms to the public agency in
violation of ORS 279C.845;
(n) Reducing an employee's pay in violation
of ORS 279C.840(7);
(o) Taking action to circumvent the payment
of the prevailing wage, other than subsections (k) and (m) of this section, in
violation of ORS 279C.840(7);
(p) Failure to submit reports and returns in
violation of ORS 279C.815(3);
(q) Failure to certify the accuracy of
reports and returns in violation of ORS
279C.815(3);
(r) Failure to timely pay the fee required by
ORS 279C.825 on public works
contracts first advertised or solicited prior to January 1, 2008;
(s) Receiving a public works contract or
subcontract while on the list of ineligibles in violation of ORS
279C.860;
(t) Awarding a contract to a contractor or
subcontractor whose name appears on the list of ineligibles maintained pursuant
to ORS 279C.860;
(u) Failure to contribute fringe benefit
wages timely to a trustee or to a third person pursuant to a plan, fund or
program on a "regular basis" and "not less often than quarterly," as those
terms are defined in OAR
839-025-0043.
(5) The commissioner may assess a
civil penalty against a public agency for any of the following violations:
(a) Failure to include in the specifications
for a public works contract a provision stating the applicable existing
prevailing wage rate in violation of ORS
279C.830(1)(a);
(b) If a public works project is subject to
both ORS 279C.800 to
279C.870 and to the Davis-Bacon
Act (40 U.S.C. 3141 et
seq.), failure to require the contractor to pay the higher of the applicable
state prevailing rate of wage or federal prevailing rate of wage to all workers
in violation of ORS 279C.830(1)(b);
(c) Failure to include a contract provision
stating that workers must be paid the applicable prevailing rate of wage in
violation of ORS 279C.830(1)(c);
(d) If a public works project is subject to
both ORS 279C.800 to
279C.870 and to the Davis-Bacon
Act (40 U.S.C. 3141 et
seq.), failure to include a contract provision stating that workers on public
works must be paid not less than the higher of the applicable state prevailing
rate of wage or federal prevailing rate of wage in violation of ORS
279C.830(1)(d);
(e) Failure to include in the specifications
for a contract for a public works a provision stating that the contractor and
every subcontractor must have a public works bond filed with the Construction
Contractors Board before starting work on the project, unless exempt, in
violation of ORS 279C.830(2);
(f) Failure to include in a contract for a
public works a provision requiring the contractor to have a public works bond
filed with the Construction Contractors Board before starting work on the
project, unless exempt, in violation of ORS
279C.830(2)(a);
(g) Failure to include in a contract for a
public works a provision requiring the contractor to include in every
subcontract a provision requiring the contractor to have a public works bond
filed with the Construction Contractors Board before starting work on the
project, unless exempt, in violation of ORS
279C.830(2)(b);
(h) Failure to notify the commissioner when a
contract is awarded in violation of ORS
279C.835;
(i) Dividing a public works project in
violation of ORS 279C.827;
(j) Failure to include a copy of the
disclosure of first-tier subcontractors with the Notice of Public Works in
violation of ORS 279C.835;
(k) Failure to retain 25 percent of the
amount the contractor earned when the contractor fails to submit payroll and
certified statement forms to the public agency in violation of ORS
279C.845;
(l) Failure to timely pay the fee required in
violation of ORS 279C.825;
(m) Awarding a contract to a contractor whose
name appears on the list of ineligibles maintained pursuant to ORS
279C.860;
(n) Entering into an agreement with another
state or a political subdivision or agency of another state agreeing that a
contractor or subcontractor may pay less than the prevailing rate of wage
determined in accordance with ORS
279C.815 under the terms of a
contract for public works to which the contracting agency is a party or of
which the contracting agency is a beneficiary in violation of ORS
279C.829.
(o) Failure to comply with the state's least
cost policy in violation of ORS
279C.305 or material breach of
an agreement negotiated by the public agency and a contractor or trade
association to remedy a violation of ORS
279C.305 and prevent future
violations.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
651.060(4)
& ORS 279C.808
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
279C.800-.870, OL Ch. 334 (2017)
& OL Ch. 715 (2017)