New York Prevailing Wage Act and New York Wage Payment Class Action Dismissed
Blank Rome represented Caddell Dry Dock & Repair Co., Inc. in a class action brought under the New York Prevailing Wage Act (the “PWA”) and the New York Wage Payment Law (the “WPL”).
The case concerned work performed by a class of drydock employees on approximately 25 contracts between Caddell and the City of New York performed during 1997-2002 for the repair of ferry boats, fireboats and sanitation barges. Plaintiffs, suing as third-party beneficiaries, contended the work was covered by the PWA as "public works" and that they were not paid the prevailing wage in violation of both the PWA and the WPL.
By an order and opinion entered on May 19, 2010, Justice Wilma Guzman of the Supreme Court of New York, Bronx County granted our client’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the class action on the merits.
The Court agreed with Caddell’s argument that the question of whether the work constitutes "public works" had already been decided in Caddell’s favor in an earlier appeal by plaintiffs in 2005. She rejected Plaintiffs’ argument that the wage schedules attached to the contracts required payment of the prevailing wage even if the work were not "public works."