PRESS RELEASE GlobeNewswire
Dec. 22, 2017, 02:09 PM
On December 18, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law new reciprocal debarment legislation to amend labor and general municipal law, as it relates to reciprocity of debarments imposed under the federal Davis-Bacon Act. The bill states that any contractor debarred by the U.S. Department of Labor for violations of the Davis-Bacon Act cannot work on New York State public works projects. The statute will take effect in March 2018.
“This is an important new State law that ensures that contractors barred on the federal level from public works projects won’t have the ability to win new projects in the State of New York,” said John Ballantyne, NRCC’s Executive Secretary-Treasurer. “We’re pleased to support a law that ensures that hardworking men and women carpenters receive good pay and benefits from reputable, law-abiding companies in the State.”
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“Unscrupulous contractors that violate workers’ rights don’t deserve to be rewarded with contracts paid for by hardworking taxpayers,” said Assemblymember Harry Bronson. “This law is a step in the right direction to help ensure that workers are protected from dishonest employers and our communities’ projects are completed by upstanding businesses that pay and treat their employees properly. Federal law, under the Davis-Bacon Act, dictates that contractors are prohibited from obtaining federal contracts if they’ve been debarred by the U.S. Department of Labor for wage payment violations. My legislation corrects a loophole in New York State law that allowed federally debarred contractors to still obtain state public works contracts. As a member of the Assembly Committee on Labor, I will continue to be an outspoken advocate for workers’ rights and continue to stand up for fair wages and vital protections.”