A measure from State representative Matt Hanson, D-Montgomery, to ensure workers receive the prevailing wage they are owed was signed into law Friday by the governor.
“If your work is subject to prevailing wage, you deserve to receive the money you are rightfully owed,” Hanson said. “Unfortunately, the way the law was previously written, workers were sometimes being paid less due to a miscommunication between local governments and contractors doing public work. Now they will have an expanded ability to fix these mistakes.”
Under Hanson’s House Bill 3491, workers may pursue a civil lawsuit against a contractor or subcontractor if the worker has been paid less than the prevailing wage rate for the public work they were employed with, regardless of whether or not the public body that contracted the work properly notified the contractor or subcontractor that the Prevailing Wage Act applied.
The Prevailing Wage Act requires that the wages of all mechanics, laborers and other workers employed in public works must be paid the prevailing rate of wages that is typically paid under collective bargaining agreements for similar work in the area where the work is performed. The rate in the locality for each job type is determined by the Department of Labor.
House Bill 3491 marks the first proposal introduced by Hanson as a member of the General Assembly that has been signed into law.
“I appreciate the advocacy on this topic from workers and local labor,” Hanson said. “It’s critical that we continue to reinforce the rights of working families, and I appreciate governor Pritzker’s swift approval of this needed update to our laws.”
House Bill 3491 will take effect January 1, 2024.
—Office of State representative Matt Hanson