New York Top Court Backs Workers in Public Works Wage Row

New York employers must pay prevailing wages to laborers on public works projects, even if it’s not explicitly laid out in the employment contract, New York’s top court ruled Tuesday.

The decision marks the first time the state Court of Appeals has addressed whether a prevailing wage promise is implied in every public works contract so that laborers can sue employers.

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit sent the question to the high court as part of a federal lawsuit accusing industrial contractor Comfort Systems USA Inc. of failing to pay prevailing wages to electrical and sprinkler ...