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The
term prevailing wage rate or "white sheet" means the basic hourly rate of pay, plus the hourly
contribution for employee benefits, paid directly or
indirectly for an occupation or trade. If no
benefits are provided, the hourly base rate and the
hourly benefit amount are required to be paid directly
to the employee.
State
and federal prevailing wage laws require contractors
engaged in public construction to pay their workers a
wage comparable to those of construction workers
performing similar private work in the same geographic
area.
Wisconsin
laws require prevailing wage rates to be applied to a
public construction project if the amount of the project
exceeds a certain dollar amount. As of January 1,
2008 the thresholds are $221,000 for a multiple trade
project and $45,000 for a single trade project.
These thresholds are reviewed and changed annually,
usually in January, by
the State of Wisconsin. These laws do not cover
projects below these thresholds. A "single
trade project" is defined as one in which a single
trade (such as a carpenter, glazier, electrician, etc.)
accounts for 85% or more of the total labor cost of such
project. A "multiple-trade project" is
defined as one in which no single trade accounts for
more than 85% of the total labor cost of such
project. State highway and bridge projects have no
threshold and are all covered by
the law. Most work performed on the site of
a project subject to any of these laws must normally be
paid for at the proper prevailing wage rate.
The
Wisconsin
Department of Transportation (DOT) construction
projects are usually covered by prevailing wage
requirements. Construction
projects with federal funding may also require federal
prevailing wage rates (also known as Davis-Bacon) to be paid to
employees.
Keep in mind that the current federal threshold is
$2,000.
The
public agency contracting the public works project has
the responsibility to obtain the required wage rates and
apply them to the public contract during the bidding
process. All
contractors and subcontractors must be notified of the
rates they are required to pay.
To
find out more about Wisconsin's prevailing wage laws and
why they benefit everyone
click
here.
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