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 […]
Category Archives: Davis-Bacon/Prevailing Wage Discussion
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 […]
A 2021 Retrospective: Real Life Criminal Consequences of Wage Violations in PA
Although noncompliance with prevailing wage statutes can sometimes be seen as a form of theft under law, past prosecutors might not have always treated it this way. And while this may have occasionally led some to believe that wage thieves can get away with a “slap on the wrist”, things have undoubtedly changed over the […]
FAQ: Prevailing Wage for Beginners
Q: What is prevailing wage? Prevailing wage refers to the minimum hourly wage and benefits that are required to be paid by contractors to workers working on public works projects in a given area. These rates can be imposed federally and/or by state – and in some cases, locally. Q: How is a project determined to […]
What The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Would Mean For Public Works Projects
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed by the Senate on August 10, 2021 by a wide bipartisan majority, would see billions of dollars invested into public works construction. As part of the wider American Jobs Plan (AJP), its aim is to revitalize American infrastructure, which in many parts of the country has fallen […]
Why You Should Go Digital with Prevailing Wage Compliance… Now
Congrats! You’ve successfully won the bid as a prime contractor on a Davis-Bacon / prevailing wage project. You’ve been the prime on a few projects in the past so you’re pretty familiar with your responsibilities. You start putting together your subcontracts, diligently reviewing them to make sure you’ve included the required Davis-Bacon information, such as […]
Misclassifications: A Fast Track to Fines and Penalties
Let’s continue the conversation about the most frequent issues contractors struggle with when it comes to prevailing wage. Today’s topic: misclassifications. Yes, this one might seem more nuanced on the surface, but it is actually one of the most prevalent and pervasive mistakes made in the public works construction industry (just google it – you’ll […]
Collecting Daily Logs on Prevailing Wage Projects
If you’re a superintendent for a large prime contractor working on Davis-Bacon / prevailing wage projects, you know the stresses of managing a project from top to bottom – especially when you receive notice that your project is going to be the target of a US Department of Labor (USDOL) investigation. This means investigators digging […]
Prevailing Wage Investigations & the Most Common Contractor Errors
So here’s the thing: investigations might capture your interest and elicit excitement when you’re watching an episode of CSI or your favorite crime-related tv show. But they’re no fun when you are the one being investigated. Any contractors that have worked on publicly-funded construction projects often and consistently enough can attest that it’s an unavoidable part of […]
The Prime Contractor’s Greatest Challenge with Prevailing Wage Compliance
UPDATE: This article was originally published August 2019 but has since been updated in February 2022. Prevailing wage: quite possibly two of the most unpleasant words for a contractor to hear when working on a construction project. Why? Because prevailing wage compliance is fraught with complexities that at times seem to warrant a small army […]