A bill addressing “wage theft” in Illinois has people disagreeing on who really would be hurt.
Jackie Gomez of the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association says her constituents would have to pay for the sins of subcontractors.
“This bill shifts the responsibility to the (primary contractors),” said Gomez. So the subs are encouraged to go off and be rogue if they want to, so if they don’t pay their workers, they’re not the ones on the hook for it, It’s the prime.”
But the sponsor says not many primary contractors are minority-owned.