Originally published April 1, 2010
Just before it closed its session, the West Virginia Legislature
passed a bill that will impact construction--including that of
school buildings and facilities--beginning in June of 2010. The
bill, which Governor Manchin signed March 19, 2010, is intended to
strengthen the State's efforts to promote the use of local
labor on construction projects within the State.
The West Virginia Jobs Act was first passed in 2001 with the intent
of employing residents of local labor markets on public improvement
projects, funded in whole or in part using taxpayer funding. At the
time, the Legislature noted that many counties in West Virginia
were designated as labor surplus areas by the United States
Department of Labor and that the use of persons from outside local
labor markets contributed to the State's higher-than-average
unemployment rate.
To remedy this, the West Virginia Jobs Act required employers
working on public improvement projects costing $1,000,000 or more
to hire at least 75% of their employees from the local labor
market. Employers were permitted to hire at least two employees
from outside the local labor market, and they could seek an
exemption if postings at the nearest office of the bureau of
employment programs' division of employment services did not
yield sufficient qualified workers. Violation of the Act resulted
in a penalty of $100 per day of the violation. Were they not
covered by the language of the Act, the School Building
Authority's Supplemental, General, and Special Conditions
require that all contractors and subcontractors working on
SBA-funded projects comply with the Act.
The Legislature's most recent action expands significantly when
the Act will apply. The Act now applies to all construction
projects of $500,000 or more, instead of $1,000,000. The Act
continues to exclude temporary and emergency repairs, but the
reduction of the threshold to $500,000 will certainly mean that the
Act applies to the vast majority of school construction
projects.
The Legislature also clarified and limited the definition of local
labor market. The definition previously was somewhat ambiguous and
included all counties within West Virginia and "all counties
bordering West Virginia that fall within seventy-five miles of the
border of West Virginia." The ambiguity regarded counties that
do not touch the West Virginia border but some part of which fall
within seventy-five miles of the border. The local labor market
now includes only those counties within West Virginia and those
counties outside West Virginia if any portion of that county is
within fifty miles of the West Virginia border.
Though the Act technically imposes requirements on employers and
the civil penalties apply to employers who violate the Act, school
boards should take note of these changes, as they are nearly always
placed in the position of ensuring that employers/contractors
comply.
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