Hinch Law

This is the third in a series of posts about the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act ,  820 ILCS 130/0.01,   et. seq.   First we introduced the Act, then we addressed concerns from the public entity's perspective .  Up next - contractors and other private entities awarded contracts for "public works" projects.     The Act requires that "prevailing wage" be paid to laborers, mechanics and other workers for "public works" projects.  A public works project includes essentially any construction, maintenance, and equipment installation for any "public body" or for any project receiving certain public funding. Right out of the gate, contractors need to know this: IT IS THE CONTRACTOR'S RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY PREVAILING WAGE FOR ANY PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT, EVEN IF THE PUBLIC BODY DOES NOT TELL YOU TO DO IT!  Yes, the public entity is required to notice contractors that prevailing wages must be paid for a project, and the public entity can incur liabi...

Last week we introduced the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act ,  820 ILCS 130/0.01,   et. seq, and summarized the broad scope of the Act.  This post will elaborate on the Act from the standpoint of the public body.  The Act requires that "prevailing wage" be paid to laborers, mechanics and other workers for "public works" projects.  A public works project includes essentially any construction, maintenance, and equipment installation for any "public body" or for any project receiving certain public funding.  A public body is defined by the Act to include  State agencies, municipalities, public districts (yes, this includes fire protection districts, drainage districts, water and sanitary districts, soil and water conservation districts, etc.), school districts, "and every other political subdivision."  A public entity would be well advised to assume that it is required to pay prevailing wage unless it has specific opinion from counsel to the contrar...

Illinois' Prevailing Wage Act , 820 ILCS 130/0.01, et. seq , has been around for a long time but was revamped in the past few years, and the changes are significant.  The Act requires that "prevailing wage," as determined for similar work for the county or locality in which the work is to be performed, be paid to all "laborers, mechanics and other workers" employed in any "public works," and includes hourly cash wages plus fringe benefits for training and apprenticeship programs, health and welfare, insurance, vacations, and pensions.  "Works" is essentially construction work, but "construction" is defined to include maintenance, repairs, and equipment assembly and disassembly.  "Public" works are defined to include any "public body," including State agencies, municipalities, public districts, school districts, "and every other political subdivision...," and also to include work done by a private entity...