1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to employment; requiring that the 
  1.3             commissioner of labor and industry establish 
  1.4             compensation ranges for job classifications and assign 
  1.5             prevailing wage rates within those ranges; amending 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 177.43, subdivision 4.
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 177.43, 
  1.9   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 4.  [DETERMINATION BY COMMISSIONER.] The prevailing 
  1.11  wage rates, prevailing hours of labor, and hourly basic rates of 
  1.12  pay for all trades and occupations required in any project must 
  1.13  be ascertained before the state asks for bids.  The commissioner 
  1.14  of labor and industry shall investigate as necessary to 
  1.15  ascertain the information.  The commissioner shall establish 
  1.16  appropriate ranges of compensation for all job classifications, 
  1.17  based on the skills, responsibilities, and working conditions 
  1.18  for each classification.  In determining the prevailing wage 
  1.19  rate for a job classification, the commissioner must assign a 
  1.20  wage that is within the established range.  The commissioner 
  1.21  shall keep the information posted on the project in at least one 
  1.22  conspicuous place for the information of the employees working 
  1.23  on the project.  A person aggrieved by a final determination of 
  1.24  the commissioner may petition the commissioner for 
  1.25  reconsideration of findings.  A person aggrieved by a decision 
  1.26  of the commissioner after reconsideration may, within 20 days 
  2.1   after the decision, petition the commissioner for a public 
  2.2   hearing in the manner of a contested case under sections 14.57 
  2.3   to 14.61.