Opinion ID: 2286511
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Contracted Work Is Construction

Text: Having determined that any work within the plain meaning of the language defining construction under section 290.210(1) is work that requires payment of prevailing wages, this Court must now assess the nature of the contracted work at issue in this case. Considering the contracted work in relation to the plain meaning of the terms included in the definition of construction under section 290.210(1), more than one defining term under that statute applies to the contracted work. One of the terms in section 290.210(1)'s definition of construction is reconstruction. Reconstruct means to construct again: as ... to build again [rebuild] ... to make over [repair]. WEBSTER'S THIRD NEW INT'L DICTIONARY UNABRIDGED 1897 (1993). To rebuild means to restore to a previous state or condition. Id. at 1893. Reconstruction is something reconstructed: as ... something reassembled (as from parts) into its original form or appearance.  Id. at 1898 (emphasis added). The contracted work includes reconstruction insofar as it involves restoration and remodeling. Such reconstruction work listed in the contract includes repairs includ[ing] steel replacement, steel parts, expansion joints, water level indicators, sway rod adjustments, manhole covers/gaskets, and other component parts of the tank or tower. Another term in the statutory definition of construction in section 290.210(1) is improvement. Improvement includes the act or process of improving: as ... the enhancement or augmentation of value or quality: an increasing of ... excellence, or desirability. WEBSTER'S THIRD NEW INT'L DICTIONARY UNABRIDGED 1138. And Black's Law Dictionary defines an improvement as [a]n addition to real property, whether permanent or not; esp[ecially] one that increases its value or utility or enhances its appearance. 826 (9th ed.2009). The contracted work includes improvements that satisfy the definition of construction under section 290.210(1), in particular, the replacement of major parts and the installation of an anti-climb device. The term alteration is also included in the definition of construction under section 290.210(1) and encompasses work at issue under the contract. An alteration can be a change or modification made on a building that does not increase its exterior dimensions. WEBSTER'S THIRD NEW INT'L DICTIONARY UNABRIDGED 63. Replacement of major parts as provided in the contract is a change or modification that has no impact on the dimensions of the water tower or storage tank. The definition of construction under section 290.210(1) also includes painting. And, to the extent that repainting is inherently painting, the contracted work includes painting as the term is used in section 290.210(1). The Department's brief concedes that minor touch-up paint[ing] may be insufficient to satisfy the reference to painting in section 290.210(1). But there can be no dispute that the work under the contract in this case is not minor touch-up painting. Instead, the contract provides for complete repainting of the interior and exterior of the water storage tank and tower. [7] Finally, the contract encompasses major repairs included in the definition of construction under section 290.210(1). Major is a reference to something that is greater in number, quantity, or extent: [larger] ... [or showing] marked increases... notable or conspicuous in effect or scope. WEBSTER'S THIRD NEW INT'L DICTIONARY UNABRIDGED 1363. The statutes and regulations do not provide a quantitative guide to settle the dispute in this case about what amount of work should be deemed a repair under the maintenance work definition set forth in section 290.210(4) as opposed to a major repair that is included within the definition of construction under section 290.210(1). But, as detailed above, the Act cannot be read to mean that repairs are classified as maintenance work unless they change a facility's size, type, or extent. Such an interpretation would undermine the inclusion of the term major repair in the definition of construction under section 290.210(1). A repair that is maintenance work under section 290.210(4) must be considered something less than a major repair under section 290.210(1). But a repair that is maintenance work under section 290.210(4) is something that is not construction, reconstruction, improvement, enlargement, alteration, painting and decorating, or major repair pursuant to section 290.210(1). In this case, the contract encompasses major repairs under section 290.210(1) in that it provides for the replacement of major component parts, particularly after severe pitting or steel loss damages occur. Because the contracted work in this case fits within terms defining construction under section 290.210(1), the trial court erred in determining the work was maintenance work for purposes of applying the Act. [8]