Senate Bill 49 will require that the University of Delaware, and other institutes of higher learning like Delaware State University and Delaware Technical and Community College, must comply with the terms of the Prevailing Wage Law for projects secured under the State Procurement Act.
Prevailing wage is the hourly wage paid to workers, laborers and mechanics in government contracts. It is also referred to as the Union Wage. Prevailing wages are established by regulatory agencies for each trade and occupation employed in the performance of public work, as well as by State Departments of Labor or their equivalents. Here are Delaware’s Prevailing Wage regulations. The Delaware Department of Labor establishes and enforces the payment of wage rates for laborers and mechanics employed on state-funded construction projects.
So this means when UD or DSU is building or renovating a building or complex, they must pay the workers under Prevailing Wage regulations.
| Senate Bill 49 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Walsh Brown Ennis Gay Hansen Lockman Mantzavinos S.McBride Paradee Pinkney Poore Sokola Sturgeon Townsend | ||
| Osenski Brady Kowalko Lambert Morrison K.Williams | ||
| Current Status: Senate Labor 1/22/21 |
This bill is a reasonable request for all of these employees.
This is really for UD. DSU and DelTech already pay prevailing wage. UD was specifically exempted long ago by the general assembly.