Every contract within the scope of the Public Works Minimum Wage Act [13-4-10 to 13-4-17 NMSA 1978] shall contain further provision that in the event it is determined by the director that any laborer or mechanic employed on the site of the project has been or is being paid a wage rate or fringe benefit rate less than the rates required, and in the absence of a voluntary resolution by the parties, the contracting agency shall, within thirty days of the director's determination, by written notice to the contractor, subcontractor, employer or person acting as a contractor, terminate the right to proceed with the work or the part of the work as to which there has been a failure to pay the required wages or fringe benefits, and the contracting agency shall prosecute the work to completion by contract or otherwise, and the contractor or person acting as a contractor and the contractor's or person's sureties shall be liable to the state for any excess costs occasioned thereby. Any party receiving notice of termination of a project or subcontract pursuant to the provisions of this section may appeal the finding of the director as provided in the Public Works Minimum Wage Act.
History: 1953 Comp., § 6-6-7, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 35, § 3; 1991, ch. 224, § 3; 2009, ch. 206, § 4; 2020, ch. 47, § 2.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2020 amendment, effective May 20, 2020, strengthened requirements in the event it is determined that a laborer is being paid a wage rate less than the rates required, and required certain entities to act regardless of whether the failure to pay the required wages was willful; and after "in the event it is", deleted "found" and added "determined", after "has been or is being paid", deleted "as a result of a willful violation", after "than the rates required", added "and in the absence of a voluntary resolution by the parties", after "the contracting agency", deleted "may" and added "shall, within thirty days of the director's determination", deleted "willful" preceding the next occurrence of "failure", and after "the contracting agency", deleted "may" and added "shall".
The 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2009, after "willful violation a", changed "rate of wages less than the rate of wages" to "wage rate or fringe benefit rate less that the rates"; and after "pay the required wages", added "or fringe benefits".
The 1991 amendment, effective July 1, 1991, substituted "director of the labor and industrial division of the labor department" and "director" for "state labor commissioner"; inserted "employer or person acting as a contractor" and "or person acting as a contractor"; substituted "project" for "contract" in the second sentence; and made minor stylistic changes throughout the section.