It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 37-13-12, 37-13-14.1 and 37-13-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 37-13 entitled "Labor and Payment of Debts by Contractors" are hereby amended to read as follows:

37-13-12. Wage records of contractors. -- Each contractor awarded a contract with a contract price in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for public works, and each subcontractor who performs work on such public works, shall keep an accurate record showing the name, occupation, and actual wages paid to each worker employed by him or her and the payments to all the employee funds specified in sections 37-13-6 and 37-13-7 by him or her in connection with the contract or work. The record shall be open at all reasonable hours to the inspection of the director of labor. {ADD The director and his or her authorized representatives shall have the right to enter any place of employment at all reasonable hours for the purpose of inspecting the wage records and seeing that all provisions of this chapter are complied with. ADD}

37-13-14.1. Enforcement -- Hearings. -- (a) Before issuing an order or determination, the director of labor shall order a hearing thereon at a time and place to be specified, and shall give notice thereof, together with a copy of such complaint or the purpose thereof, or a statement of the facts disclosed upon such investigation, which notice shall be served personally or by mail on any person, firm or corporation affected thereby; such person, firm or corporation shall have an opportunity to be heard in respect to the matters complained of at the time and place specified in such notice, which time shall be not less than five (5) days from the service of the notice personally or by mail. Said hearing shall be held within ten (10) days from the order of hearing. The hearing shall be conducted by the director of labor or his or her designee. The hearing officer in such hearing shall be deemed to be acting in a judicial capacity, and shall have the right to issue subpoenas, administer oaths and examine witnesses. The enforcement of a subpoena issued under this section shall be regulated by Rhode Island civil practice law and rules. Such hearing shall be expeditiously conducted and upon such hearing the hearing officer shall determine the issues raised thereon and shall make a determination and enter an order within ten (10) days of the close of the hearing, and forthwith serve a copy of such order, with a notice of the filing thereof, upon the parties to such proceeding, personally or by mail. Such order shall dismiss the charges or direct payment of wages or supplements found to be due, including interest at the rate of six percentum (6%) {ADD twelve percentum (12%) ADD} per annum from the date of the underpayment to the date of payment, and may direct payment of reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the complaining party.

(b) In addition to directing payment of wages or supplements including interest found to be due, such order may direct payment of a further sum as a civil penalty in an amount not exceeding twenty-five percent (25%) of the total amount found to be due. {ADD shall also require payment of a further sum as a civil penalty in an amount equal to three times the total amount found to be due. Further, if the amount of salary owed to an employee pursuant to this chapter but not paid to said employee in violation of thereof exceeds five thousand dollars ($5,000), it shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be referred to the office of the attorney general, such misdemeanor shall be punishable for a period of not more than one (1) year in prison and/or fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). ADD} In assessing the amount of the penalty, due consideration shall be given to the size of the employer's business, the good faith of the employer, the gravity of the violation, the history of previous violations and the failure to comply with recordkeeping or other nonwage requirements. The surety of the person, firm or corporation found to be in violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be bound to pay any penalties assessed on such person, firm or corporation. The penalty shall be paid to the department of labor for deposit in the state treasury; provided, however, it is hereby provided that the general treasurer shall establish a dedicated "prevailing wages enforcement fund" for the purpose of depositing the penalties paid as provided herein. There is hereby appropriated to the annual budget of the department of labor the amount of the fund collected annually under this section, to be used at the direction of the director of labor for the sole purpose of enforcing prevailing wage rates as provided in chapter 13 of this title.

(c) For the purposes of this chapter, each day or part thereof of violation of any provision of this chapter by a person, firm or corporation, whether such violation is continuous or intermittent, shall constitute a separate and succeeding violation.

(d) In addition to the above, any person, firm, or corporation found in willful violation of any of the provisions of this chapter by the {ADD director of labor, an awarding authority, or the ADD} hearing officer, shall be ineligible to bid on or be awarded work by an awarding authority or perform any such work for a period of up to {ADD no less than eighteen (18) months and no more than ADD} thirty-six (36) months from the date of the order entered by the hearing officer. {ADD Once a person, firm or corporation is found to be in violation of this chapter, all pending bids with any awarding authority shall be revoked, and any bid awarded by an awarding authority prior to the commencement of the work shall also be revoked. ADD}

(e) In addition to the above, any person, firm or corporation found to have committed two (2) or more willful violations in any period of eighteen (18) months of any of the provisions of this chapter by the hearing officer, which violations are not arising from the same incident, shall be ineligible to bid on or be awarded work by an awarding authority or perform any such work for a period of sixty (60) months from the date of the second violation.

(f) The order of the hearing officer shall remain in full force and effect unless stayed by order of the superior court.

{ADD (g) The director of labor, awarding authority or hearing officer shall notify the bonding company of any person, firm or corporation suspected of violating any section of this chapter. Such notice shall be mailed certified mail, and shall enumerate the alleged violations being investigated.

(h) In addition to the above, any person, firm or corporation found to have willfully made a false or fraudulent representation on certified payroll records shall be referred to the office of the attorney general. Such false or fraudulent representation shall be considered a misdemeanor, said misdemeanor shall be punishable for a period of not more than one (1) year in prison and/or fined one thousand dollars ($1,000). Further, any person, firm or corporation found to have willfully made a false or fraudulent representation on certified payroll records shall be required to pay a civil penalty to the department of labor in an amount of no less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) and not greater than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) per representation. ADD}

37-13-15. Review. -- (a) There is hereby created an appeals board which shall be comprised of three (3) members who shall be appointed by the governor; provided, however, that each member of the appeals board shall have at least five (5) years experience with prevailing wage rates as they apply to the construction industry. The members of such appeals board shall serve without compensation. The members of the appeals board shall be appointed for terms of three (3) years except that of the three (3) members originally apointed by each of the appointing authorities; one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one shall be a appointed for a term of two (2) years and one for a term of three (3) years.

(b) Any person aggrieved by any action taken by the director of labor or his or her designated hearing officer under the authority of this chapter, or by the failure or refusal of the director of labor to take any action authorized by this chapter, may obtain a review thereof for the purpose of obtaining relief from the action or lack of action by filing a petition for administrative review and relief, to the appeals board as provided herein. Such petition for administrative review shall be filed within twenty (20) days of the action taken by the director of labor or designated hearing officer. The petition for administrative review shall be heard within ten (10) days of the date of filing. An aggrieved person under this section shall include:

(1) Any person who is required to pay wages to his or her employees or make payments to a fund on behalf of his or her employees, as provided in this chapter;

(2) Any person who is required to be paid wages for his or her labor or on whose behalf payments are required to be paid to funds, as provided by this chapter;

(3) The lawful collective bargaining representative of a person defined in subdivision (2) above;

(4) A trade association of which a person defined in subdivision (1) above is a member;

(5) A proper authority as defined in this chapter;

(6) A contractor who submitted a bid for work to be or which has been awarded under the provisions of this chapter or a trade association of which he or she is a member, and

(7) A labor organization which has one or more written collective bargaining agreements with one or more employers or a trade association which sets forth the hours, wages, and working conditions of a craft, mechanic, teamster, or type of worker needed to execute the work, as provided in this chapter to the extent that it would be affected by the action or the failure to act of the director of labor or the hearing officer.

(c) Any aggrieved person as defined herein may obtain a review of a decision of the appeals board by filing a petition in the superior court in Providence county pursuant to the provisions of the administrative procedures act, praying for review and relief and the petition shall follow the course of and be subject to the procedures for causes filed in the court.

{ADD (d) The director is hereby empowered to enforce his or her decision and/or the decision of the appeals board in the superior court for the county of Providence. ADD}

SECTION 2. Chapter 37-13 of the General Laws entitled "Labor and Payment of Debts by Contractors" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:

{ADD 37-13-12.1. Obstruction of enforcement. -- ADD} {ADD Any effort of any employer to obstruct the director and his or her authorized representatives in the performance of their duties shall be deemed a violation of this chapter and punishable as such. ADD}

{ADD 37-13-12.4. Penalty for violations. -- ADD} {ADD Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any employer who shall violate, or fail to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100) for each separate offense, or by imprisonment for not less than ten (10) nor more than ninety (90) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each day of failure to pay wages due an employee at the time specified in this chapter shall constitute a separate and distinct violation. ADD}

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.