Document text
2 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Mail Tribune 100, Feb. 2, 1916 ... Oregon man pleads guilty to planting fake bomb on plane ... Oregon Senate Democrats unveil alternative corporate tax proposal ... Mail Tribune 100, Feb. 2, 1916 ... Oregon man pleads guilty to planting fake bomb on plane ... Oregon Senate Democrats unveil alternative corporate tax proposal ... EDUCATION SOU will pay most of the costs of $2.5 million settlement State: Construction workers weren't paid enough Comment By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Jan. 28, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Jan. 28, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Southern Oregon University and Texas-based American Campus Communities will each pay a share of a $2.5 million settlement after the state determined they had not paid workers enough for the construction of two new residence halls and a dining hall. American Campus Communities, a builder and manager of campus properties, will pay $600,000 of that bill, SOU officials said this week. SOU and American Campus Communities have lease and financing deals for Shasta Hall and McLoughlin Hall, the residence halls. SOU will use money from its housing department to pay its portion of the settlement. Housing is an auxiliary service, so no university general fund dollars will be used to pay the settlement, SOU Head of Community and Media Relations Ryan Brown said in email interviews this week. Cash previously reserved and saved from the construction project will be used to substantially fund the settlement, he said. "There is no anticipated increase to the cost of student housing due to the settlement," he said. Brown said there are no projects currently planned that will be negatively impacted by the settlement. Maintenance spending also will not be affected. In late December, Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian announced the $2.5 million wage settlement for 325 employees who worked on the two residence halls and the dining hall. State officials said workers were underpaid because they were not paid a prevailing wage required on public projects. SOU did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement. State officials said construction of the residence halls and The Hawk dining facility was essentially a single, large public project. Construction of the buildings began in 2012, with all three completed in the first week of September 2013. The same architect and general contractor worked on the project, which was administered by SOU as a single project. "The project was improperly divided and should have been considered one project. Workers should have earned Oregon's prevailing wage rate," Charlie Burr, communications director for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, said this week. Some projects can be divided into public and private portions, with higher prevailing wages applying to the public portions and the private portion exempt, he said. "When we took a look at it, we decided the overall project should be one project," Burr said. "From our perspective, it was a clear public project subject to prevailing wage." SOU could have potentially considered the American Campus Communities portion of the project to be separate and private. With the terms of the settlement requiring caution in statements made by the involved parties, Burr declined to say whether SOU considered the construction of the residence halls to be a separate, private project. "We didn't have to answer the question of whether the residence halls were a discrete and private project. You could ask SOU about their approach," he said. Brown declined to answer specifically whether SOU believed part of the construction project should have been exempt from prevailing wage laws because of the financing and lease arrangements it has with American Campus Communities for the two residence halls. Instead, he referred back to a statement SOU issued in response to the announcement of the $2.5 million settlement, which read, "Though SOU disagreed with BOLI's conclusion that additional wages were owed on the project, due to the time and cost of litigating the dispute, the SOU administration concluded that it was in the best interest of all involved to mutually resolve the dispute. SOU is looking forward to moving on from the issue and continuing to serve our students and community." Burr said if there are questions about whether a construction project is public or private, involved parties can seek a determination in advance from the state Bureau of Labor and Industries so they know whether prevailing wage laws will apply. He said SOU did not seek a determination in advance. The $2.5 million settlement with SOU is the largest in the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries' 112-year history, state officials said. Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-776-4486 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous . By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Jan. 28, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501