§104-28  Civil action.  (a)  Thefollowing civil actions may be instituted in any court of competentjurisdiction:

(1)  An action to recover unpaid wages or overtimecompensation may be maintained by any one or more laborers or mechanics for andon behalf of oneself or themselves and others similarly situated; and

(2)  An action for injunctive and other relief againstan employer that fails to pay the prevailing wage to its employees as requiredby this chapter by a joint labor-management committee established pursuant tosection 175a of the federal Labor Management Cooperation Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C.175a).

(b)  The court, in its action and in additionto any judgment awarded to the plaintiff or plaintiffs, shall allow reasonableattorney's fee and costs of the action to be paid by the defendant.

(c)  It shall be no defense that the laborersand mechanics accepted or agreed to accept less than the required rate of wagesor overtime compensation or voluntarily made refunds.

(d)  When a written request is filed by anylaborer or mechanic with the director claiming unpaid wages or overtimecompensation under this chapter, the director, after receiving an assignmentfrom the laborer or mechanic, may bring an action in any court of competentjurisdiction to recover the amount of the claim.  The consent of any laborer ormechanic to the bringing of such action by the director, unless the action isdismissed without prejudice on motion of the director, shall constitute awaiver by the laborer or mechanic of any right of action the laborer ormechanic may have under subsection (a).  Any amount recovered by the directorbefore suit and accepted by the laborer or mechanic as payment in full shallconstitute a waiver of any rights under this chapter. [L 1995, c 181, pt of §2;am L 2007, c 16, §1]