An Act amending the act of August 15, 1961 (P.L.987, No.442), known as the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act, further providing for duty of contractor; providing for registration of contractors and subcontractors, for registration fees, for proof of registration and for duties of contractors, subcontractors and the department; and further providing for remedies and penalties.

PRINTER'S NO. 956
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 855
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY KANE, SANTARSIERO, HAYWOOD, TARTAGLIONE AND COSTA,
JUNE 18, 2025
REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, JUNE 18, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of August 15, 1961 (P.L.987, No.442), entitled
"An act relating to public works contracts; providing for
prevailing wages; imposing duties upon the Secretary of Labor
and Industry; providing remedies, penalties and repealing
existing laws," further providing for duty of contractor;
providing for registration of contractors and subcontractors,
for registration fees, for proof of registration and for
duties of contractors, subcontractors and the department; and
further providing for remedies and penalties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 6 of the act of August 15, 1961 (P.L.987,
No.442), known as the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act, is
amended to read:
Section 6. Duty of Contractor.--(a) Every contractor and
subcontractor shall keep an accurate record showing the name,
craft and the actual hourly rate of wage paid to each workman
employed by him in connection with public work, and such record
shall be preserved for two years from date of payment. The
record shall be open at all reasonable hours to the inspection
of the public body awarding the contract and to the secretary.
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(b) At the time the record is created, the contractor or
subcontractor shall certify and file the record with the
department in accordance with section 7.1.
Section 2. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
Section 6.1. Registration of Contractors and
Subcontractors.--(a) A contractor or subcontractor may not bid
on or perform any public work without first registering with the
department as provided in this section.
(b) Every contractor and subcontractor required to register
under this section shall register in writing or electronically
via a secure Internet connection, if permitted by the
department, on a form provided by the department. The form
submitted by the registrant shall include the following
information:
(1) For an individual registrant, all of the following:
(i) Name.
(ii) Date of birth.
(iii) Home address and home telephone number.
(iv) Driver's license number, a copy of an identification
card issued by the state in which the individual resides or
other form of identification as permitted by the department.
(v) Business name, address and telephone number.
(vi) Federal employer identification number, if applicable.
(vii) Social Security number.
(viii) All prior business names and addresses of all
businesses in connection with public work operated by the
individual.
(2) For a general partnership registrant, all of the
following:
(i) Name of each partner.
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(ii) Date of birth of each partner.
(iii) Home address and home telephone number of each
partner.
(iv) Driver's license number or a copy of an identification
card issued by the state in which the partner resides of each
partner.
(v) Partnership name, address and telephone number.
(vi) Federal employer identification number, if applicable.
(vii) Social Security number of each partner.
(viii) All prior business names and addresses of all
businesses in connection with public work operated by the
registrant and each partner.
(3) For a corporation, limited liability company or limited
partnership, all of the following:
(i) Name of each officer, manager and general partner.
(ii) Date of birth of each officer, manager and general
partner.
(iii) Home address and home telephone number of each
officer, manager and general partner.
(iv) Driver's license number or a copy of an identification
card issued by the state in which the individual resides, of
each officer, manager and general partner.
(v) Entity's name, address and telephone number.
(vi) Federal employer identification number, if applicable.
(vii) Social Security number of each officer, manager and
general partner.
(viii) Name of each director or each individual holding
greater than a 5% equity interest in the entity.
(ix) All prior business names and addresses of all
businesses in connection with public work operated by each
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officer, manager and general partner.
(4) For an out-of-State corporation, limited liability or
limited partnership, the name and address of the entity's
resident agent or registered office provider within this
Commonwealth and any registration number or license number
issued to the entity by its home state or political subdivision
of the other state, if applicable.
(5) For a joint venture registrant, the name, address and
telephone number of the joint venture, as well as the name,
address and telephone number of each party to the joint venture.
If the parties to a joint venture include business entities, the
information required from the entities under paragraph (2) shall
also be provided.
(6) A complete description of the nature of the business of
the registrant to bid on or perform work on a project of public
work.
(7) A statement whether:
(i) The registrant has ever been convicted of a criminal
offense related to a business in connection with a public work
transaction, fraud, theft, a crime of deception or a crime
involving fraudulent business practices.
(ii) The registrant has filed a petition in bankruptcy or,
within the last ten years, received a final civil judgment
entered against the registrant in which the registrant held an
interest that was related to a business in connection with a
public work transaction.
(iii) The registrant's certificate or a similar certificate
or license issued by any other state or political subdivision
thereof has ever been revoked or suspended pursuant to an order
issued by a court of competent jurisdiction and, if so, the
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current status of the certificate or similar certificate or
license. The statement required by this clause shall include the
same information with respect to any other business in which the
person registering has or has ever had an interest.
(8) Whether within the last ten years the registrant has
been suspended or debarred from participating in any Federal,
State, local or not-for-profit program through which public
funding or other assistance is provided to owners for a public
work performed by a business listed in the registration form.
(9) Proof of liability insurance covering personal injury in
an amount not less than $50,000 and insurance covering property
damage caused by the work of a contractor or subcontractor
connected with the public work in an amount not less than
$50,000. For the purpose of this paragraph, proof of insurance
may include information attested to by a registrant that the
registrant is self-insured and the department shall develop
forms for this purpose and make them available to registrants.
The department may determine the sufficiency of the self-
insurance and the manner in which it is maintained in compliance
with this act.
(10) Any other relevant and appropriate information as
determined by the secretary.
(c) Information requested under subsection (b)(1), (2), (3),
(4) and (5) shall relate to a ten-year period prior to the time
of registration. The registrant shall provide information prior
to the last ten years, or as further clarification of the
information provided, if the department requests the
information.
(d) At the time of registration and subsequently upon
request, the registrant shall submit to the department
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documentation demonstrating that the contractor has worker's
compensation insurance coverage for all workers as required by
law.
(e) A public works contractor and subcontractor shall be
prohibited from registering if any of the following have
occurred:
(1) The contractor or subcontractor has been cited for
failing to maintain all valid licenses, registrations or
certificates required by a Federal, State or local government
that may be required to do business or perform work at the
location of the facility.
(2) The contractor or subcontractor has been cited or
convicted by a court or State agency for failure to comply with
the act of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736, No.338), known as the Workers'
Compensation Act, and, the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd
Sp.Sess., 1937 P.L.2897, No.1), known as the Unemployment
Compensation Law, and bonding and general liability insurance
requirements specified in the contract for work.
(3) Within the last three years, the contractor has been
found by a final decision of a court or government agency to be
in violation of any law or regulation applicable to its
business, including tax, prompt payment, wage and hour,
prevailing wage, environmental or safety laws or regulations,
and has not been debarred or suspended on any project by a
Federal, State or local government entity.
(4) Within the last three years, the contractor or
subcontractor has defaulted on a project or declared bankruptcy.
(5) Within the last ten years, the contractor or
subcontractor has been convicted of a crime relating to the
contractor's or subcontractor's business.
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(6) The contractor or subcontractor failed to ensure that
all individuals employed for the contractor or subcontractor
have completed a minimum of the ten-hour safety training course
established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
of the United States Department of Labor.
(7) The contractor or subcontractor failed to participate in
an approved apprenticeship training program that is registered
with and certified by the United States Department of Labor or
the Department of Labor and Industry of the Commonwealth that
provides for on the job training, classroom training and
graduation of apprentice trainees to the status of journeyperson
similar to and under the training and graduation requirements as
outlined under the registered apprentice training programs
certified by the Department of Labor and Industry, for each
specific trade or classification employed for work at the
facility. Regardless of whether the program is subject to the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-
406, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.) ("ERISA") or a non-ERISA program.
(f) A contractor or subcontractor registered to bid on or
perform a public work in accordance with subsection (b) that is
registered or licensed as a contractor or subcontractor in any
other state, or political subdivision thereof, shall report the
registration to the department on the initial registration and
annual and biennial renewal registration form. Any disciplinary
action taken in the other jurisdiction shall be reported to the
department on the initial registration form or, if the action
occurred subsequent to submission of an initial form, on the
biennial registration form or within ninety days of final
disposition, whichever is sooner. Multiple registrations or
licensures shall be noted by the department on the contractor's
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registration, and the state, or political subdivision thereof,
shall be notified by the department of any disciplinary action
taken against the contractor or subcontractor in this
Commonwealth.
(g) A contractor or subcontractor required to register under
this section shall update the information required to be
included in the contractor's and subcontractor's form for
registration, or renewal of registration, within thirty days
after any change in the required information. There shall be no
fee required for updating the information in an active
registration.
(h) A contractor and subcontractor required to register
under this section may elect to renew the registration on an
annual or biennial basis in a manner prescribed by the
department. Registration shall be renewed not less than thirty
days before the expiration date of the immediately preceding
registration.
(i) A contractor and subcontractor not performing public
work on the effective date of this section shall file a
registration form and submit a fee to the department before
submitting a bid for a public work contract. A contractor or
subcontractor may not be precluded from bidding for a public
work contract or performing public work if the contractor or
subcontractor has submitted a registration form to the
department and includes a copy of the registration form with the
bid. The department shall review the registration form and make
a determination regarding registration within thirty days of
receipt of the registration submission.
(j) A contractor and subcontractor with a bid proposal
submitted, or that is engaged in or performing public work on
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the effective date of this section shall submit the registration
form and fee to the department within thirty days of the
effective date of this section.
Section 6.2. Registration Fees.--(a) An initial
registration form submitted by a registrant for a certificate
shall be for a one year registration and accompanied by a fee of
five hundred dollars ($500). After completion of the form and
payment of the fee, the department shall review for a
determination of approval and upon approval, issue the
registrant a registration certificate identifying the name of
the individual contractor or subcontractor, name and address of
the business and a registration number. Renewal of registration
for an annual registration shall be accompanied by a fee of five
hundred dollars ($500). A registrant electing to renew
registration for a two-year period shall accompany the renewal
request with a fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(b) Registration fees collected under this section shall be
deposited into the Public Work Contractor Compliance Account
established in subsection (c) to be used exclusively for the
purpose of enforcement of contractor and subcontractor public
work registration under section 6.1 and building of the
certified payroll public database under section 7.1.
(c) The Public Work Contractor Compliance Account is
established as a restricted account in the State Treasury. The
department shall deposit all fees and penalties collected under
section 6.1 after the effective date of this section into the
Public Work Contractor Compliance Account. The source of funding
for the restricted account includes:
(1) Money received from the registration of a contractor or
subcontractor required to register or renew registration under
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section 6.1.
(2) Fines, penalties, fees and costs assessed and collected
as a result of enforcement activities conducted by the
department's compliance personnel related to violations for
failure to register or renew registration under section 6.1 and
failure to submit certified payroll information required under
section 6(b).
(3) Money appropriated for the purposes of the enforcement
of registration of contractors and subcontractors under section
6.1 and certified payroll database creation, maintenance or
expansion under section 7.1.
(4) Federal money appropriated or authorized for the
purposes of the enforcement of registration of contractors and
subcontractors under section 6.1 and certified payroll database
creation, maintenance or expansion under section 7.1.
(5) Gifts or other contributions from a public or private
source for the restricted account.
(6) Earnings on money in the restricted account.
(d) The money in the account established in subsection (c)
and any interest earned on the money may be drawn on by the
Bureau of Labor Law Compliance for performing any activities
necessary to carry out, administer and enforce the laws enforced
by the bureau, provisions of section 6.1 and to create, maintain
or upgrade the certified payroll public database under section
7.1.
Section 6.3. Proof of Registration.--A contractor and
subcontractor required to register under section 6.1 shall
include its registration number in all public work
advertisements distributed within this Commonwealth, contracts,
estimates and proposals, and bids to public bodies on public
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work. This section shall apply to a public work advertisement,
contract, estimate and proposal and bid created by a contractor
or subcontractor after the effective date of this section.
Section 7.1. Duties of Contractors, Subcontractors and the
Department.--(a) A contractor and subcontractor required to
register or renew registration under section 6.1 shall file a
statement certifying payroll of all workmen paid on each project
for public work. The filing shall be made in writing or
electronically via a secure Internet connection, if permitted by
the department, on a form provided by the department.
(b) The department shall develop a standardized form for
written and electronic submission of certified payroll.
(c) The department's duties under this section are
contingent on adequate funding provided by the General Assembly.
(d) The department may:
(1) Utilize existing resources available to compile database
information.
(2) C ontract with a third party to establish and operate the
database.
(e) The filing fee shall be five hundred dollars ($500) for
the initial one year registration. Following the initial
registration, registrants may choose to renew their registration
for five hundred dollars ($500) for a one-year registration or
may elect a two-year registration and pay a one thousand dollars
($1,000) filing fee.
(f) The filing fees collected under this section shall be
deposited into the Public Work Contractor Compliance Account
established in section 6.2(c) to be used exclusively for the
operations of the Bureau of Labor Law Compliance, the purpose of
enforcement of contractor and subcontractor public work
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registration under section 6.1 and building of the certified
payroll public database under this section.
(g) The department may promulgate regulations to carry out
this section.
Section 3. Section 11 of the act is amended to read:
Section 11. Remedies and Penalties.--(a) The fiscal or
financial officer, or any public body having public work
performed under which any workman shall have been paid less than
the prevailing wage, shall forthwith notify the secretary, in
writing, of the name of the person or firm failing to pay the
prevailing wages.
(b) Any workman may, within three months from the date of
the occurrence of the incident complained of, file a protest, in
writing, with the secretary objecting to the amount of wages
paid for services performed by him on public work as being less
than the prevailing wages for such services.
(b.1) The fiscal or financial officer of any public body
having public work that receives bids for public work to be
performed and any workmen with wages required under this act who
has knowledge of a contractor's or subcontractor's failure to
register or renew registration under section 6.1 or failure to
certify payroll under section 6(b), may, within three months
from the date of the occurrence of the incident, file written
notice with the secretary.
(c) [Whenever a fiscal or financial officer of any public
body shall notify the secretary that any person or firm required
to pay its workmen the prevailing wage under this act has failed
so to do, or whenever any workman employed upon public work
shall have filed a timely protest objecting that he has been
paid less than prevailing wages as required by this act, it] It
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shall be the duty of and the secretary shall forthwith
investigate the matter and determine whether or not there has
been a failure to pay the prevailing wages and whether such
failure was intentional or otherwise[.], whenever:
(1) a fiscal or financial officer of any public body shall
notify the secretary that any person or firm required to pay its
workmen the prevailing wage under this act has failed so to do
or has failed to provide valid registration information with
submission of bid or at any time during the performance of
public work;
(2) any workman employed upon public work shall have filed a
timely protest objecting that the workman has been paid less
than prevailing wages as required by this act or, if known to
the workman, has attested to a failure of the contractor or
subcontractor to register or maintain registration under section
6.1 or failure to certify payroll required under section 6(b);
or
(3) it becomes known to the Bureau of Labor Law compliance
within the Department of Labor and Industry that a contractor or
subcontractor performing public work fails to register or renew
under section 6.1 or fails to certify its payroll to the
department under section 6(b).
(c.1) In any such investigation, the secretary shall provide
for an appropriate hearing upon due notice to interested parties
including the workmen, the employer and their respective
representative, if any.
(d) In the event that the secretary shall determine, after
notice and hearing as required by this section, that any person
or firm has failed to pay the prevailing wages, failed to
register or renew registration as required under section 6.1 or
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failed to certify payroll as required under section 6(b) and
that such failure was not intentional, [he] the secretary shall
afford such person or firm a reasonable opportunity to adjust
the matter by making payment or providing adequate security for
the payment of the amounts required to be paid under this act as
prevailing wages to the workmen affected on such terms and
conditions as shall be approved by the secretary.
(e) In the event that the secretary shall determine, after
notice and hearing as required by this section, that any person
or firm has failed to pay the prevailing wages, failed to
register or renew registration as required under section 6.1 or
failed to certify payroll as required under section 6(b) and
that such failure was intentional, [he] the secretary shall
thereupon notify all public bodies of the name or names of such
persons or firms and no contract shall be awarded to such
persons or firms or to any firm, corporation or partnership in
which such persons or firms have an interest until three years
have elapsed from the date of the notice to the public bodies
aforesaid. The secretary may in addition thereto request the
Attorney General to proceed to recover the penalties for the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which are payable under subsection
(f) of this section.
(f) Whenever it shall be determined by the secretary, after
notice and hearing as required by this section, that any person
or firm has failed to pay the prevailing wages, failed to
register or renew registration as required under section 6.1 or
failed to certify payroll as required under section 6(b) and
that such failure was intentional, such persons or firm shall be
liable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: [for liquidated
damages, in addition to damages for any other breach of the
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contract in the amount of the underpayment of wages due any
workman engaged in the performance of such contract.]
(1) for liquidated damages; and
(2) damages for any other breach of the contract in the
amount of the underpayment of wages due any workman engaged in
the performance of such contract.
(f.1) In addition to any other damages permitted by law,
when the secretary's determination includes findings that the
contractor or subcontractor failed to register or renew
registration as required under section 6.1 or failed to certify
payroll as required under section 6(b), the department may
impose a penalty in the amount of two thousand five hundred
dollars ($2,500) for each separate offense for a violation of
the first offense. A second determination by the secretary of
the same failure to comply by a contractor or subcontractor
within a two-year period, shall subject the contractor or
subcontractor to a penalty in the amount of five thousand
dollars ($5,000) and to debarment for a duration of two years.
The monetary penalty imposed for a violation under this
subsection shall be deposited into the Public Work Contractor
Compliance Account established in section 6.2(c) to be used
exclusively for the purpose of enforcement of contractor and
subcontractor public work registration under section 6.1 and
building of the certified payroll public database created in
section 7.1.
(g) It shall not constitute a failure to pay the prevailing
wage rates for the work of a particular craft or classification
where the prevailing wage rates determined for a specific craft
or classification has been paid, and it is asserted that one or
more bona fide craft unions contend that the work should have
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been assigned to their members instead of the members of the
specific craft to whom it was assigned or by whom it was
performed.
(h) The following shall constitute substantial evidence of
intentional failure to pay prevailing wage rates:
(1) Any acts of omission or commission done wilfully or with
a knowing disregard of the rights of workmen resulting in the
payment of less than prevailing wage rates.
(2) After there has been a finding by the secretary in the
manner required by this section that any person or firm has
failed to pay the prevailing wages prescribed by this act and
thereafter there shall be a failure by such person or firm to
pay the prevailing wages prescribed by this act, or there shall
be a subsequent failure of such person or firm to comply with
any opportunity to adjust any differences which shall be
afforded him by the secretary.
Section 4. This act shall take effect in one year.
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