9. (a) Before final payment is made by or on behalf of any public body or before any lessee to whom the public body is leasing a property or premises or any lessor from whom the public body is leasing or will be leasing a property or premises makes such payment, of any sum or sums due on a public work, it shall be the duty of the treasurer of the public body or other officer or person charged with the custody and disbursement of the funds of the public body, the lessee to whom the public body is leasing a property or premises or the lessor from whom the public body is leasing or will be leasing a property or premises, as the case may be, to require the contractor and subcontractor to file written statements with the public body and the commissioner in a form satisfactory to the commissioner certifying to the amounts then due and owing from such contractor and subcontractor filing such statement to any and all workers for wages due on account of the public work, setting forth therein the names of the persons whose wages are unpaid and the amount due to each respectively, which statement shall be verified by the oath of the contractor or subcontractor, as the case may be, that he has read such statement subscribed by him, knows the contents thereof, and that the same is true of his own knowledge; provided, however, that nothing herein shall impair the right of a contractor to receive final payment because of the failure of any subcontractor to comply with provisions of this act.

(b) In case any worker shall have filed a protest in writing within three months from the date of the occurrence of the incident complained of with the commissioner, objecting to the payment to any contractor to the extent of the amount or amounts due or to become due to the worker for wages for work performed on a public work, the commissioner may direct the fiscal or financial officer of the public body or other person charged with the custody and disbursements of the funds of the public body, the lessee to whom the public body is leasing a property or premises or the lessor from whom the public body is leasing or will be leasing a property or premises, as the case may be, to deduct from the whole amount of any payment, the sum or sums admitted by any contractor in such statement or statements so filed to be due and owing by him on account of wages earned on such public work.

Such fiscal or financial officer, the lessee to whom the public body is leasing a property or premises or the lessor from whom the public body is leasing or will be leasing a property or premises, shall withhold the amount so deducted for the benefit of the worker whose wages are unpaid as shown by the verified statement filed by such contractor, and shall pay directly to any worker the amount shown by such statement to be due to him for such wages. Such payment shall thereby discharge the obligation of the contractor to the person receiving such payment to the extent of the amount thereof.

L.1963, c.150, s.9; amended 1990, c.27, s.5; 2007, c.68, s.4; 2021, c.164, s.1.