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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2025 - 2026
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 2, 2024 09:21 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Jay Costa |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Improvements to the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act |
| In the near future, I will be introducing SB 215, legislation to ensure that violators of the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act are held accountable by prohibiting them to continue bidding on future public works projects. In 2021, then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced that Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc. pleaded to and was sentenced with theft of wages for violations of the Prevailing Wage Act. Hawbaker was illegally diverting and subsidizing the health care and retirement of all of its employees, when these payments were supposed to be made to employees covered under the Act. This had the effect of making payments to these accounts look appropriate, when in fact they were being spread out across their entire workforce, including owners and executives. Hawbaker agreed to pay more than $20 million in stolen wages. My legislation will disbar a person or firm from bidding on public work contracts for a period of time commensurate with the amount that has not been paid in wages and benefits, including 10 years for any amount greater than $10 million. This bill will strengthen our Prevailing Wage Act and ensure that employees are properly compensated for the work they do on public projects and protect them from unscrupulous contractors. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation. Previous co-sponsors include Senators Fontana, Hughes, Brewster, Collett, Schwank, Kane, Dillon, Tartaglione, Street, Cappelletti, Santarsiero, Kearney, Comitta, Saval and Muth. |