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03/23/2023
Myths & Facts About Prevailing Wage
Prevailing wages are the minimum wages set by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) for specific trades, and they vary from one location to another. The determination of prevailing wages is based on a number of factors, including the type of work being performed, the skill level of the workers, and the local market conditions. […]
Read More...03/22/2023
Exploring the Impact of Prevailing Wages on Military Veterans
As new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill continues to be pumped into the country’s public works projects every day, it’s no secret that there is a dire need for the construction industry to expand its output right along with it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects construction employment to increase in the next […]
Read More...03/10/2023
A Woman’s Experience Working in Construction: Q&A with Monique Cox
In honor of National Women in Construction Week, today we give a shout-out to our one and only, Monique Cox, for all that she has done (and continues to do) in the world of construction and labor compliance. Below is a quick Q&A with Monique highlighting her path in the industry and the things she […]
Read More...02/22/2023
A Case Study: Do Project Labor Agreements Affect Project Costs and Contractor Bidding Behavior?
Project. Labor. Agreements. Three simple words that might elicit a different reaction depending on the kind of a stakeholder you are in the public works construction industry. It’s understandable; Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) can be a divisive topic. For some of us, the additional rules and regulations may feel as if you’re trekking through a […]
Read More...12/20/2022
Filling Out the Statement of Compliance and Why It’s So Important
So, you’ve got yourself a prevailing wage job… Congrats! You grab a WH-347 form, enter all your project and employee information, check that the hours, wage rates, and deductions are correctly applied (or so you believe), and then you go to submit it… But wait! You remember: a Statement of Compliance (SOC) must be filled […]
Read More...09/28/2022
What Wage Theft Looks Like in Public Works Construction
What is wage theft in the context of public works construction? It sounds bad, right? Like many would assume, wage theft occurs when money is “stolen” from an employee by means of paying them a wage rate less than what they are legally entitled to – whether intentional or not. And while this happens in […]
Read More...07/28/2022
The Roads Leading to Investigations and How to Navigate Them
Raise your hand if you enjoy being audited. Someone?… Anyone?… Bueller?… While they might seem intrusive, audits are a necessary evil when it comes to prevailing wage compliance – and they aren’t going anywhere. Although there’s often nothing egregious to uncover, there will inevitably come a time when an auditor discovers something that requires a […]
Read More...06/17/2022
The Fundamentals of Wages & Fringes on Public Works Projects
Let’s talk about the fundamental building blocks of Davis-Bacon: wages and fringes. First of all, what does the “prevailing” in prevailing wage even mean? And how are the rates determined? For many, the word “prevailing” here might seem synonymous with “minimum”. As in minimum wage. And although it’s not way off the mark – because […]
Read More...04/07/2022
More Real-Life Consequences of Wage Violations – Part 2
In a previous blog post, we discussed a few of the larger cases of wage and hour compliance violations that resulted in criminal prosecution last year in 2021. The fact of the matter is, that post was only covering cases in the state of Pennsylvania alone… This time, we’re going to take a look […]
Read More...02/03/2022
Understanding the Conformance Process from the Awarding Body’s Perspective
As the awarding body of public works construction projects, an agency should understand its responsibilities in upholding prevailing wage compliance. But their success in doing so often also hinges on the processes they put in place to not only monitor their contractors, but to help them. We’ve said it here before: one of the many […]
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