Amendments for HB24-1008
House Journal, February 9
20 HB24-1008 be amended as follows, and as so amended, be referred to
21 the Committee on Appropriations with favorable
22 recommendation:
23
24 Amend printed bill, page 2, after line 1 insert:
25
26 "SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general
27 assembly finds and declares that:
28 (a) Wage theft, the failure to pay an employee the employee's
29 legally earned wages, is the largest form of theft in the United States, and
30 the Colorado Fiscal Institute estimates that wage theft transfers nearly
31 $728 million dollars to employers from the pockets of approximately
32 438,260 Colorado workers each year. Minor workers, women, and
33 workers of color are disproportionately impacted by wage theft.
34 (b) Wage theft not only affects Coloradans' ability to pay rent and
35 put food on the table, but it also denies our state and local governments
36 between $25 million and $42 million in revenue each year;
37 (c) To combat wage theft, the state must keep up with changes in
38 the marketplace. One of the most significant changes involves the
39 increasing use of labor market intermediaries to directly employ workers.
40 Too often, this fissuring of the labor market is used to outsource an
41 employer's responsibility to workers required by labor and employment
42 laws.
43 (d) Construction is an industry with extraordinary labor market
44 fissuring, with layers upon layers of contractors, subcontractors, labor
45 brokers, staffing agencies, etc. This incentivizes wage theft by favoring
46 inexpensive subcontractors. It also creates barriers to wage recovery
47 because undercapitalized subcontractors can't or won't pay wages.
48 (e) Due in part to these practices, workers in the construction
49 industry are disproportionately likely to experience wage theft. Federal
50 Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division data show that Colorado's
51 construction industry has double the number of wage theft violations that
52 it should have in proportion to the number of workers in the industry.
53 This is consistent with Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
54 data showing that while only 7% of Colorado workers are in construction,
55 construction workers make up 17% of administrative wage theft
56 complaints that are found valid after a full agency investigation.
1 (f) Federal data also show that in fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the
2 construction industry saw the highest dollar amount of wage theft of any
3 industry, totaling over $35 million in federal fiscal year 2023 alone. In
4 addition, the construction industry has among the highest number of
5 individual workers who are victims of wage theft.
6 (g) To effectively combat wage theft in the construction industry,
7 the state needs a tailored solution to ensure not only that workers have
8 substantive legal protection against wage theft, but also that the state has
9 the right alignment of business incentives to prevent wage theft before it
10 happens and the right access to capital to ensure that workers can recover
11 stolen wages;
12 (h) Creating general contractor accountability for wage theft
13 committed on their projects by a subcontractor at any tier provides such
14 a tailored solution. Such accountability will enlist general contractors in
15 the fight against wage theft, incentivize engagement with law-abiding
16 subcontractors who pay their workers correctly, and encourage general
17 contractors to root out bad actors who underbid for contracts knowing
18 they will make up the difference by denying their workers the wages they
19 earned.
20 (i) While creating general contractor liability for wage claims, this
21 act will also ensure that general contractors can efficiently seek
22 reimbursement from subcontractor employers for any amounts paid out
23 for wage claims owed to the subcontractors' employees. In this way, the
24 act will ensure that workers get paid, but will not leave general
25 contractors on the hook for a subcontractor's wage debts.
26 (j) This act narrowly focuses on general contractor liability for
27 wage debts owed to the workers on their projects who were engaged by
28 the general contractor's subcontractors at any tier. Such liability does not
29 extend to wage debts owed to the workers of general contractor suppliers
30 or other business partners. Also, liability for debts owed based on a wage
31 claim or investigation does not include liability for a subcontractor's
32 retaliatory acts.
33 (k) This act does not alter the division of labor standards and
34 statistics' existing obligation to treat a notice of citation or a notice of
35 assessment issued to an employer for a violation of wage law as a public
36 record pursuant to section 8-1-115 (1)(b), Colorado Revised Statutes, and
37 does not require the additional publication of a notice of citation or a
38 notice of assessment issued to a general contractor that is not the
39 employer of an employee who is the victim of wage theft;
40 (l) With this act, Colorado hopes not only to ensure that workers
41 get paid their legally earned wages, but also to partner with the many
42 general contractors who are abiding by the law and want to ensure all
43 workers on their job sites are paid in full and on time; and
44 (m) Therefore, the general assembly declares that wage theft is an
45 unacceptable business practice, and the state should use or adopt all
46 available tools to prevent wage theft before it happens and give workers
47 the means to recover stolen wages.".
48
49 Renumber succeeding sections accordingly.
50
51 Page 3, strike line 2 and substitute "SUBCONTRACTOR, IF SUCH CONTRACT
52 RELATES TO REAL PROPERTY OTHER THAN PROPERTY FOR WHICH THE
2 53 OWNER COULD CLAIM THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION PURSUANT TO PART
54 OF ARTICLE 41 OF TITLE 38.".
55
56
1 Page 4, strike lines 7 through 26 and substitute "in the construction
2 industry. (1) (a) A GENERAL CONTRACTOR ENTERING INTO A
3 CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT IN THIS STATE IS LIABLE FOR ALL AMOUNTS
4 OWED TO AN EMPLOYEE PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE 4 OR ARTICLE 6 OF
5 THIS TITLE 8 FOR THE EMPLOYEE'S LABOR, CONSTRUCTION, OR OTHER
6 WORK INCLUDED WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT,
7 INCLUDING AMOUNTS OWED BY A SUBCONTRACTOR AT ANY TIER ACTING
8 UNDER, BY, OR FOR THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR OR THE GENERAL
9 CONTRACTOR'S SUBCONTRACTORS.
10 (b) THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR'S RESPONSIBILITY UNDER
11 SUBSECTION (1)(a) OF THIS SECTION DOES NOT EXTEND TO DAMAGES
12 OWED FOR RETALIATION COMMITTED BY A SUBCONTRACTOR PURSUANT TO
13 SECTION 8-4-120 (3).
14 (2) UNLESS THE VIOLATION IS CAUSED BY THE GENERAL
15 CONTRACTOR'S LACK OF PAYMENT TO THE SUBCONTRACTOR IN
16 ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE GENERAL
17 CONTRACTOR AND THE SUBCONTRACTOR:
18 (a) A SUBCONTRACTOR EMPLOYER SHALL INDEMNIFY THE
19 GENERAL CONTRACTOR FOR:
20 (I) ALL AMOUNTS OWED BY THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR PURSUANT
21 TO SUBSECTION (1) OF THIS SECTION DUE TO THE SUBCONTRACTOR'S
22 VIOLATION OF THIS ARTICLE 4 OR ARTICLE 6 OF THIS TITLE 8; AND
23 (II) ALL ATTORNEY FEES PAID BY THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR TO
24 DEFEND AGAINST LIABILITY FOR SUBCONTRACTOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS
25 ARTICLE 4 OR ARTICLE 6 OF THIS TITLE 8;
26 (b) A GENERAL CONTRACTOR MAY BRING A CROSSCLAIM FOR
27 INDEMNIFICATION AGAINST THE SUBCONTRACTOR EMPLOYER IN ANY
28 ACTION RELATED TO THE WAGE CLAIM.
29 (3) A SUBCONTRACTOR'S FAILURE TO INDEMNIFY THE GENERAL
30 CONTRACTOR IS NOT A DEFENSE TO ANY ACTION BROUGHT AGAINST THE
31 GENERAL CONTRACTOR PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION (1) OF THIS SECTION.".
32
33 Renumber succeeding subsections accordingly.
34
35 Page 6, strike line 10 and substitute:
36
37 "(II) CONTAINS A GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE THAT RESULTS IN A
38 FINAL AND BINDING DECISION;
39 (III) MAY BE USED TO RECOVER UNPAID WAGES ON BEHALF OF
40 EMPLOYEES COVERED BY THE AGREEMENT;
41 (IV) PROVIDES FOR THE COLLECTION OF UNPAID CONTRIBUTIONS
42 TO FRINGE BENEFIT TRUST FUNDS ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO 29 U.S.C.
43 SEC. 186 (c)(5) AND (c)(6), BY OR ON BEHALF OF SUCH TRUST FUNDS;
44 AND".
45
46 Renumber succeeding subparagraph accordingly.
47
48 Page 6, strike lines 13 through 20 and substitute:
49
50 "SECTION 5. Act subject to petition - effective date -
51 applicability. (1) This act takes effect July 1, 2025; except that, if a
52 referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the
53 state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act
54 within the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general
55 assembly, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless
56 approved by the people at the general election to be held in November
1 2024 and, in such case, will take effect July 1, 2025, or on the date of the
2 official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor, whichever is
3 later.
4 (2) This act applies to wage claims brought and investigations
5 commenced on or after the applicable effective date of this act.".
6
House Journal, April 16
32 HB24-1008 be amended as follows, and as so amended, be referred to
33 the Committee of the Whole with favorable
34 recommendation:
35
36 Amend printed bill, page 6, after line 12 insert:
37
38 "SECTION 4. Appropriation. (1) For the 2024-25 state fiscal
39 year, $55,179 is appropriated to the department of labor and employment
40 for use by the division of labor standards and statistics. This appropriation
41 is from the general fund. To implement this act, the division may use this
42 appropriation for program costs related to labor standards. This amount
5 43 is based on an assumption that the division will require an additional 0.
44 FTE.
45 (2) For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $44,807 is appropriated to
46 the department of personnel for use by the executive director's office.
47 This appropriation is from the general fund. To implement this act, the
48 department may use this appropriation for the purchase of legal services.
49 (3) For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $44,807 is appropriated to
50 the department of law. This appropriation is from reappropriated funds
51 received from the department of personnel under subsection (2) of this
52 section and is based on an assumption that the department of law will
53 require an additional 0.2 FTE. To implement this act, the department of
54 law may use this appropriation to provide legal services for the
55 department of personnel.".
56
1 Renumber succeeding sections accordingly.
2
3 Page 1, line 103, strike "INDUSTRY." and substitute "INDUSTRY, AND, IN
4 CONNECTION THEREWITH, MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.".
5
6