Rhode Island § 37-13-13 - Labor and Payment of Debts by Contractors

§ 37-13-13. Furnishing payroll record to the awarding authority.

(a) Every contractor, subcontractor, vendor, or provider awarded a contract for public works or school transportation services as defined by this chapter shall furnish a certified copy of his, her, or its payroll records of his, her, or its employees employed on the project to the awarding authority on a monthly basis for all work completed in the preceding month on a uniform form prescribed by the director of labor and training. Notwithstanding the foregoing, certified payrolls for department of transportation or other road, highway, or bridge public works may be submitted on the federal payroll form, provided that, when a complaint is being investigated, the director or his or her designee may require that a contractor resubmit the certified payroll on the uniform department form or provide actual payroll records.

(b) Awarding authorities, contractors, subcontractors, vendors, and providers shall provide any and all payroll records to the director of labor and training within ten (10) days of their request by the director or his or her designee.

(c) In addition, every contractor and subcontractor shall maintain on the site where public works are being constructed and the general or primary contract is one million dollars ($1,000,000) or more, a daily log of employees employed each day on the public works project. The log shall include, at a minimum, for each employee his or her name, primary job title, and employer and shall be kept on a uniform form prescribed by the director of labor and training. The log shall be available for inspection on the site at all times by the awarding authority and/or the director of the department of labor and training and the director’s designee. This subsection shall not apply to road, highway, or bridge public works projects.

(d) The director of labor and training may promulgate reasonable rules and regulations to enforce the provisions of this section.

(e) The awarding authority of any public works project shall withhold the next scheduled payment to any contractor, subcontractor, vendor, or provider who or that fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (a) or subsection (b) above and shall also notify the director of labor and training. The awarding authority shall withhold any further payments until such time as the contractor, subcontractor, or provider has fully complied. If it is a subcontractor who or that has failed to comply, the amount withheld shall be proportionate to the amount attributed or due to the offending subcontractor as determined by the awarding authority. The department may also impose a penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) for each calendar day of noncompliance with this section, as determined by the director of labor and training. Mere errors and/or omissions in the daily logs maintained under subsection (c) shall not be grounds for imposing a penalty under this subsection.