Rhode Island § 37-13-15 - Labor and Payment of Debts by Contractors

§ 37-13-15. Review.

(a) There is hereby created an appeals board which shall be comprised of three (3) members who shall be appointed by the governor; provided, however, that each member of the appeals board shall have at least five (5) years experience with prevailing wage rates as they apply to the construction industry. The members of the appeals board shall serve without compensation. The members of the appeals board shall be appointed for terms of three (3) years except that of the three (3) members originally appointed by each of the appointing authorities: one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years, and one for a term of three (3) years.

(b) Any person aggrieved by any action taken by the director of labor and training or his or her designated hearing officer under the authority of this chapter, or by the failure or refusal of the director of labor and training to take any action authorized by this chapter, may obtain a review thereof for the purpose of obtaining relief from the action or lack of action by filing a petition for administrative review and relief, to the appeals board as provided herein. The petition for administrative review shall be filed within twenty (20) days of the action taken by the director of labor and training or designated hearing officer. The petition for administrative review shall be heard within ten (10) days of the date of filing. An aggrieved person under this section shall include:

(1) Any person who is required to pay wages to his or her employees or make payments to a fund on behalf of his or her employees, as provided in this chapter;

(2) Any person who is required to be paid wages for his or her labor or on whose behalf payments are required to be paid to funds, as provided by this chapter;

(3) The lawful collective bargaining representative of a person defined in subdivision (2) above;

(4) A trade association of which a person defined in subdivision (1) above is a member;

(5) A proper authority as defined in this chapter;

(6) A contractor who submitted a bid for work to be or which has been awarded under the provisions of this chapter or a trade association of which he or she is a member; and

(7) A labor organization which has one or more written collective bargaining agreements with one or more employers or a trade association which sets forth the hours, wages, and working conditions of a craft, mechanic, teamster, or type of worker needed to execute the work, as provided in this chapter to the extent that it would be affected by the action or the failure to act of the director of labor and training or the hearing officer.

(c) Any aggrieved person as defined herein may obtain a review of a decision of the appeals board by filing a petition in the superior court in Providence county pursuant to the provisions of the administrative procedures act, praying for review and relief. The petition shall follow the course of and be subject to the procedures for causes filed in the court.

(d) The director is hereby empowered to enforce his or her decision and/or the decision of the appeals board in the superior court for the county of Providence.