Types of Work & Prevailing Wages in New York
Types of Work
Prevailing wages are the pay that must be given to workers laboring on public works projects funded either by the state or federal government. Prevailing wage rates differ under state and federal laws and must exceed a certain expense. Prevailing wages must be comparable to the wages that workers are given for similar projects within a specified, local area.
Who is Qualified?
Prevailing wage rates can be different depending on both the county and state in which an individual works as well as the type of work being performed. These rates also include stipulations regarding payment for fringe benefits such as overtime and holidays. Prevailing wages are paid to a worker regardless of whether a worker has any union connections. Additionally, these wages are also determined in consideration of labor union rates for similar job categorizations, and are frequently adjusted as these union rates change.
Federal prevailing wage rates are determined for each occupation and trade that is employed for public works projects. The kinds of work that qualify for these wage rates include, but are not limited to, work performed by the following on a public works project: a sheet metal worker, roofer, plumber, painter, mason, glazier, and electrician.
How Workers are Exploited by Prevailing Wage Rate Misclassifications
Unfortunately, contractors oftentimes find ways to reduce expenses and intentionally misclassify workers in order to pay them less than what they legally deserve under state and federal laws regarding prevailing wage rates. When a worker is misclassified, an employer may be able to avoid paying them the wage rate they are eligible for, thus denying the worker what they legally deserve. Worker misclassification may also prevent a worker from receiving designated fringe benefits such as health care, overtime, paid time off, and workers' compensation insurance. Employers may also be able to evade paying a worker their prevailing wages and related benefits if they pay short term day workers and/or undocumented foreign workers in cash rather than through proper, legal payroll.
A worker can be misclassified in several ways, such as getting labeled incorrectly as an independent contractor. This means the worker will need to take care of their own tax obligations since their Social Security taxes will not be withheld from their paycheck as it would if they were a regular employee on the payroll of the public works project. Independent contractors are also not covered by workers' compensation insurance if they are injured while at work on a public works project, and are also not likely to be eligible for overtime pay.
A worker can also be misclassified and denied appropriate prevailing wages if they are identified as a manager, assistant manager, or administrative assistant. Usually, in these occurrences, workers carry out the same duties as other hourly employees paid prevailing wages, but they are not given overtime pay or other benefits that are specified for their work title and job tasks.
Underpaid Workers Taking Legal Action to Protect Their Rights
The misclassification of workers, whether intentional or accidental, is illegal. Workers who labor on public works projects for the state and/or federal government are legally owed prevailing wage rates as well as related fringe benefits. If you are eligible for prevailing wages and you believe your employer has intentionally violated state and/or federal laws related to prevailing wages, you have legal options. Contact the New York prevailing wage attorneys at Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP today to learn more about how to protect your legal rights as a wronged worker. Call (212) 986-7353 today.