I wanted to know a little bit about prevailing wages.
I'm currently working at a state institution, Queens Children's Psychiatric in New York City. I've been with my contractor for about 4 months now, and for about the past 10 weeks, I've been at this job.
I am a helper, but by no means, a regular "gofer" or "hand me my tools" helper. I can keep up with the 7+year mechanics with conduit runs, circuit layouts, and the like at the job we are doing now.
But, my co-workers are getting $75/hr, which I hear is the prevailing wage for mechanics here in NY. By no means am I asking for $75/hr, but they do tell me that prevailing wages for a helper should be in the $35-$45/hr range.
I'm currently at $20/hr. I do love my job, I am thankful for my job, but if I deserve to get a higher wage for the fact that it's the law to get a certain amount since this is for the state, then I really need to get that.
Is it right for my contractor to be paying the other 4 mechanics prevailing wage but to continue to pay me my normal pay? Everyone I talked to said that he's keeping the extra money for himself, and is probably writing fake amounts for how much he's paying me. Can this happen?
I'm thinking on talking to my boss tomorrow morning, but what happens if he rejects my question, what can I do from there?
