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4/15/2025
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Morales, union carpenters rally for passage of Paycheck Recovery Act
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 STATE HOUSE – Rep. David Morales joined leaders and members of the Carpenters Union Local 330 along with Secretary of State Gregg Amore today at a rally against tax fraud, misclassification, and wage theft in the construction industry and calling for the passage of his legislation to hold contractors accountable.
The Construction Industry Paycheck Recovery Act (2025-H 5366) would hold general contractors jointly civilly liable for wage theft committed by their subcontractors, ensuring that workers have a place to turn to receive their owed wages quickly.
“If you work long hours in construction, you should be paid for every hour—it’s as simple as that,” said Representative Morales (D-Dist. 7, Providence). “Yet in our state, hundreds of construction workers have been denied their rightful wages. This legislation builds on the progress we made two years ago to combat wage theft by closing a loophole that allows subcontractors to avoid accountability. Strengthening our labor laws is essential to ensuring fair pay and ending exploitative practices, to the benefit of everyone in our community.”
In the construction industry, workers are often hired by a network of subcontractors, which can make it confusing and difficult to figure out the responsible party when wage theft occurs.
Under the legislation, which has also been introduced in the Senate (2025-S 0069) by Sen. Meghan E. Kallman (D-Dist. 15, Pawtucket, Providence), general contractors would not be criminally liable for wage theft committed by their subcontractors, and they would be able to pursue claims against their subcontractors for the unpaid wages.
Said Ben Branchaud, political coordinator for the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, “When we prosecute wage theft in the construction industry, the victim is often an employee of a second or third-tier subcontractor whose legal employer doesn’t really exist. This makes it difficult or impossible to make sure that worker is made whole. This legislation makes sure all construction workers have a clear, swift path to recovering their stolen wages and puts responsibility on the companies who sign the contracts to manage that money after the workers have been paid.”
Photo: Rep. David Morales on the State House steps at the Paycheck Recovery Act rally.
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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