Published date:

Effective January 1, 2013, in the state of Pennsylvania, all public works contractors and sub-contractors will be mandated to use and enroll in E-Verify. Public work is defined as construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration, and/or repair work other than maintenance done under contract in excess of $25,000.

Under the new law, The Public Works Employment Verification Act, public works state contractors and subcontractors will need to verify their employees using the federal E-Verify System. If not done, the penalties are:

1. Warning to the violator and posting on Pennsylvania’s website
2. 30 day debarment from state public works contracts
3. 180 days or up to one year debarment from state public works contracts

Willful violators (determined by court) may be debarred for up to three years.

What contractors must do in order to comply with the new law is sign a verification form affirming their enrollment in E-Verify and acknowledging their responsibilities. Violators may be subject to a civil fine of $250 or up to $1,000 per violation. However, there is more to the mandate than just enrolling with E-Verify. Employers must also comply with federal E-Verify and I-9 requirements as well as the state. With the enrollment in E-Verify, an employer must also sign a Memorandum of Understanding to utilize the federal system. When enrolling in E-Verify, employers must develop comprehensive compliance programs since the Memorandum subjects the I-9 records to internal audits.

LCPtracker is a solution to this potential audit and penalty problem. LCPtracker provides a labor compliance tool for prevailing wage Davis-Bacon construction projectsthat will allow the electronic submission of the verification statement, or the E-Verify form. It also provides verification that the employees on the project are all I-9 verified. Included within the system is a mechanism to warn and report on all employees that are not E-Verified or I-9 verified on the project.

Plus with the LCPtracker solution you get a total prevailing wage, Davis Bacon labor compliance software tool. The LCPtracker system not only verifies all employees on the project, it can also be used to monitor and check certified payrolls and prevailing wage requirements. The software can reduce administrative hours by 50 to 80 percent, depending on how many reports are utilized, as well as eliminate storage costs of certified payrolls. Thus, with LCPtracker you can dramatically reduce the risk of audit failure or potential employee payroll restitution.

To read more on the new law, CLICK HERE