Columbus council committee proposes prevailing-wage requirement for projects receiving $500,000 or more in city incentives

A vice chair of the Columbus City Council economic development committee (name not specified) on Tuesday outlined proposed legislation that would require private commercial or industrial construction or renovation projects receiving $500,000 or more in city financial support to pay Ohio—s prevailing wage rates and benefits to laborers and mechanics working on those projects.

The proposal would also require recipients of those incentives to meet and confer with the City of Columbus Office of Diversity and Inclusion to discuss partnering with local workforce-development organizations and establishing goals for using small regional businesses during construction.

The legislation was presented during a committee hearing featuring questions from several council members and one public speaker, Dorsey Hager, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbus and Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, who testified in support of the measure. No final vote was recorded.

The proposal extends protections that already apply to city-owned construction projects, the committee presenter said, by covering private projects that receive substantial city support. "Workers on city owned projects are already provided prevailing wage protections, which includes retirement benefits, health benefits, and overtime," the presenter said. "When the city makes deep investments in private, commercial, and industrial, projects, I believe that that same standard should be adhered to on those projects as well."

Under the draft…