§ 5-4-12. Prevailing wage.

A.

Any firm, individual, partnership, corporation, contractor, or subcontractor that is awarded a contract in excess of $50,000.00 by the city for the construction of, improvement, enlargement, alteration or replacement of a public work or any project involving city funds in excess of $50,000.00 (hereinafter referred to as "recipient"), shall be required to pay local prevailing wages for laborers, workmen, mechanics or other listed classifications for Memphis, Tennessee.

B.

Contracts for the construction of, demolition, improvement, enlargement, alteration or replacement of a public work or project shall not be deliberately divided into multiple contracts for the sole purpose of circumventing the prevailing wage ordinance.

C.

The term "wage(s)" and "prevailing wage(s)" shall be defined as the rate of pay as determined according to the provisions of this section and shall not be in excess of the applicable prevailing wage rates or occupational rates established by the state and said rate shall be adopted where applicable.

D.

There shall be a prevailing wage commission composed of nine members, including the city finance director or his or her designee, who shall serve as chairperson of the committee, and the city public works director or his or her designee. The chairperson of the city council or another councilmember designated by the city council chairperson shall also serve on the commission. Six members shall be appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council and shall serve terms of two years (two shall be representatives of the Memphis Building and Construction Trades Council, two shall be representatives of the West Tennessee Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. or their designees, and two shall be representatives of a local minority contractor association). The commission shall meet as required and shall have oversight responsibility for the prevailing wage ordinance to ensure it is properly and fairly enforced. The commission shall have no authority in the establishment of wages or job descriptions.

E.

Determination of local prevailing wage . For purposes of this section, the prevailing wage rate shall be determined as follows:

1.

The prevailing wage rate for the city shall be the most current State of Tennessee prevailing wage rates for highway construction established by the prevailing wage commission for state highway construction projects in accordance with T.C.A. title 12, chapter 4, part 4 and the applicable Tennessee occupational wages for building construction projects prepared annually by the department of labor and workforce development.

F.

Filing scheduled wages; employment of apprentices .

1.

It shall be required that any recipient performing under the terms of this section file with the city a schedule of the wages to be paid to such laborers, workmen, mechanics or employees working other classifications.

2.

The schedule shall not be less than the state prevailing wages for the class of work being performed by each laborer, workman or mechanic. Such schedule of prevailing wages shall be clearly posted on the job site during construction. (Any construction, improvement, enlargement, alteration or replacement of a public work project, as provided hereof, shall require that a contractor employs apprentices who are properly indentured into a joint labor management apprenticeship training program or an equivalent program that is registered and certified with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship Training.)

3.

Pre-apprentices/helpers may be utilized if indentured apprentices are not available.

G.

Proof of compliance . The city and/or its authorized representative shall have the power and authority to request and receive information which would substantiate proper compliance under this section. The recipient of the contract shall supply the requested documents or information to the city or its designee within 30 working days of receipt of this request. Failure to comply with the request shall result in a fine equal to the maximum amount allowable under the law after the 30 working days response period has elapsed. If determination is made by the city that the recipient is not in compliance with the prevailing wage ordinance, the recipient will be provided seven working days to begin and to diligently pursue rectifying the compliance violation. If recipient fails to comply with this request within 21 working days, then documentation will be forwarded to the prevailing wage commission for final disposition. A majority vote of members present will be final, with a minimum of five members in attendance.

H.

Violations, penalties and sanctions . Any recipient that knowingly or willfully fails to comply with the provisions of this section as determined by the prevailing wage commission shall be fined not less than the maximum amount allowable under the law for each violation. Any recipient which is found to have committed two violations of this section in any 24-month period shall be prohibited from being awarded a contract by the city for any public work or project for a period of 24 months of adjudication of the second violation.

(Code 1985, § 2-333; Ord. No. 4665, § 1, 4-6-1999; Ord. No. 4998, § 2, 5-6-2003; Ord. No. 5014, § 1, 2003; Ord. No. 5543, § 1, 4-1-2014)

State law reference

Authorized penalties for ordinance violations, T.C.A. § 6-54-306.