May Court Reduce Prevailing Wage Award Against Contractor Based on Public Agency's Mistake?

Doug Bergman et al. v. Monarch Construction Co. et al., Case nos. 2009-0558 and 2009-0649

12th District Court of Appeals (Butler County)

ISSUES:

* When a trial court rules that a contractor violated the state's prevailing wage law by underpaying workers for labor on a public works project, and enters a judgment awarding back pay to compensate the workers for that underpayment, is the court mandated to also award the workers a penalty of 25 percent of the amount of the underpayment unless it makes specific statutory findings that waive the penalty, or is the award of the 25 percent penalty at the discretion of the trial court?

* Under a provision of the prevailing wage law that imposes liability on a public agency for a contractor's underpayments to workers that are caused by the public agency's failure to notify the contractor about a change in the prevailing wage, may a trial court reduce the amount it orders the contractor to pay to the underpaid workers by the amount of the underpayment the court determines was caused by the public agency's error?