Contractors, state wage office clash over Michigan prevailing-wage rollout; data privacy, penalties and rulemaking top concerns

Members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor and Economic Opportunity heard competing views Friday on Michigan’s recently revived prevailing-wage regime, with contractors warning the law’s enforcement design and data requirements are chilling competition for public projects and state officials describing a workplan to clarify rules, build a payroll database and prioritize education over punishment.

“Prevailing wage is the law,” Shane Hernandez, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan, told the committee, but he said many nonunion contractors are reluctant to bid on public projects because of “14,150 pages of prevailing wage rates” and uncertainty about how the law will be applied. Hernandez said members worry that preregistration will require extensive personal data and that the combination of anonymous and third‑party complaints and stiff penalties could lead to “frivolous lawsuits” or repeated enforcement actions that effectively bar firms from bidding.

Hernandez and Jeff Toyer, an attorney with Foster Swift who represents ABC members, highlighted several features they say increase compliance risk: a preregistration requirement that asks firms to submit certified payroll and employee details in advance; an ability under the statute for anonymous employee complaints and third‑party complaints; and multiple potential penalty sources. Toyer said the statute allows the LEO (Labor and Economic Opportunity) commissioner to suspend or revoke registrations, gives county prosecutors authority to seek civil fines, and authorizes…