Centre Co., PA (WJAC) — The ongoing dispute between a Centre County based construction company and PennDOT was the subject of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court hearing this week.
In August of 2021, Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc., of State College, pleaded no contest to four wage theft related charges filed by the state’s attorney general’s office.
Hawbaker, while denying guilt, agreed to pay more than $20 million dollars in restitution.
PennDOT sought to ban Hawbaker from bidding on state road contracts for three years.
PennDOT is Hawbaker’s largest client, but a state commonwealth court ruling blocked PennDOT‘s suspension order.
This week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, during a special hearing, focused on that issue, not whether PennDOT could suspend Hawbaker’s contact work, but rather was the commonwealth court ruling justified.
At the heart of the dispute is Hawbaker’s no contest plea.
PennDOT claims it should be taken as a guilty plea, but Hawbaker disagrees.
PennDOT argues the case is based on theft, not a prevailing wage issue, but Hawbaker’s attorney and one of the Supreme Court justices openly questioned why the attorney general’s office was prosecuting.
Hawbaker says that for more than 20 years they followed federal regulations, until the AG’s office got involved in 2018.
And Hawbaker argues the issue should have been investigated by the state’s Department of Labor and Industry.
However, PennDOT claims Hawbaker should not be immune from a possible further penalty, that contractors should be held responsible.
As of now, Hawbaker is still doing PennDOT contract work statewide.
There is no word on when the Supreme Court may render a decision.
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