A new study from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute (MEPI) released exclusively to Wisconsin Public Radio finds the repeal of Wisconsin’s prevailing wage laws has resulted in lower wages for construction workers in Wisconsin, despite having no statistically significant impact on the cost of public construction projects. Prevailing wage laws set minimum pay requirements for wages …
In 1931, a Republican senator, James Davis of Pennsylvania, and a Republican congressman, Robert Bacon of New York, came together to author legislation requiring local prevailing wages on public works projects. The bill, known as Davis-Bacon, which was signed into law by President Herbert Hoover, also a Republican, aimed to fight back against the worst practices of …
Davis-Bacon Is Not Racist, and We Need to Protect It Read More »
A lawsuit filed against Thoele Asphalt Paving by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan claims the contractor underpaid its employees by over $100,000 on a public works project. The Department of Labor had demanded back pay for the workers from the contractor but Thoele failed to pay. Now, they are demanding the back pay plus “penalties …
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
