Hershaw v. Fender-Mason Elec. Co., FENDER-MASON

• Court: Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
• Writing for the Court: Before TURNAGE; TURNAGE
• Citation: 664 S.W.2d 628
• Parties: 26 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1022 Wendell Keith HERSHAW, Jr., Appellant, v.ELECTRIC CO., Respondent. 34,206.
• Docket Number: FENDER-MASON,No. WD,WD
• Decision Date: 24 January 1984

Page 628

664 S.W.2d 628 26 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1022 Wendell Keith HERSHAW, Jr., Appellant,
v.
FENDER-MASON ELECTRIC CO., Respondent. No. WD 34,206. Missouri Court of Appeals,
Western District. Jan. 24, 1984.

Ronald M. Sokol, St. Joseph, for appellant.

Michael L. Taylor, Watkins, Boulware, Lucas & Miner, St. Joseph, for respondent.

Before TURNAGE, C.J., and DIXON and CLARK, JJ.

TURNAGE, Chief Judge.

Wendell Hershaw, Jr., filed suit against Fender-Mason Electric Co. for failure of Fender-Mason to pay him the prevailing wage on a project subject to the prevailing wage law. Sections 290.210 to 290.340, RSMo 1978. The court sustained Fender-Mason's motion for summary judgment and Hershaw has appealed.

The Golden Age Nursing Home in Braymer, Missouri, entered into a contract with a general contractor to build an addition to its facility. The parties agreed that the project was subject to the prevailing wage law because the home was receiving financing from the Federal Government. Section 290.210(7). Pursuant to statute, the home obtained a prevailing wage determination, dated January 26, 1979, from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The determination carried the statement that it "expires 120 Calendar Days from date of issue if no contract is awarded." That statement was inserted pursuant to regulations adopted by the department and contained in 8 C.S.R. 30-3.010. The regulation provides that any wage determination will become void when the proposed public work is not started or a contract is not awarded within 120 calendar days from the date of the original determination. The regulation requires the public body to request a new determination before proceeding with the project if the determination becomes void.

Page 629

A contract was entered into by the home on August 11, 1979, more than six months after the wage determination was issued. The contract contained a copy of the determination and the contractor agreed to pay the wages contained therein. A copy of the determination was posted at the job site.

Hershaw was an electrician employed by Fender-Mason, the subcontractor for performance of electrical work. Hershaw alleged in his petition that the prevailing wage contained in the determination called for electricians to be paid $11.54 per hour together with fringe benefits of $1.91 per hour, but that Fender-Mason paid him only $6.75 per hour for a portion of his work and $7.50 for the remainder. The petition claimed...