WISCONSINREPORT.COM (02/01/2010) - Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin (ABC WI) filed an injunction Friday, January 29, 2010, in Dane County Circuit Court to prevent the implementation of a new law requiring contractors to electronically file extensive payroll data when working on public works projects. The law, adopted last May as part of the budget bill, became effective this January. The association says it unfairly treats non-union contractors differently than union contractors.

ABC WI claims it requires non-union contractors working on government jobs to provide payroll data to the state while largely exempting union contractors from complying with the same requirement. The payroll data will then be posted on a state web site.

“We object to the law on multiple levels” the association’s Vice President John Mielke, said. “But the heart of this action is that we think the department is exceeding its statutory authority by not going through the required rule-making process”, Mielke concluded.

The statute requires contractors to provide the name, trade, hours worked and wages paid for each employee working on the prevailing wage project.

Although the change was made in May, the Department of Workforce Development just released information stating it will require contractors to list nearly 50 different pieces of information for each employee on each project each month.

The form itself will not be available for use until February 1, 2010. Contractors are required to complete the forms by February 7, 2010.

The new reporting provision is on top of existing requirements. Contractors are already required to maintain payroll records, sign an affidavit certifying that workers were paid correctly and allow the state to review those records upon request.

Federal projects and certain municipalities require a “slimmed down” version of payroll reporting and this new law would require contractors to submit yet another report on another form to another government agency.

“This is just another example of an overzealous state agency putting more regulation on a struggling industry” says Mielke “It doesn’t create a single job or put a single tradesperson back to work.”

The association presumes the provision was adopted to increase compliance with the state’s prevailing wage laws.

The prevailing wage laws require contractors to pay construction workers state mandated wages when working on public construction projects.

However, ABC WI suggests that even with the proposed reporting requirements it will be impossible for someone to examine the payroll data on the web site and determine if an employee was paid correctly.

Additionally union contractors are only required to submit a copy of their collective bargaining agreement which ABC WI says provides absolutely no indication if the contactor has complied with the law.