August 11, 2023

By Lane Kimble

Wisconsin got rid of its prevailing wage in 2017, but changes at the federal level this week could still impact contractors working on certain projects in the Badger state.

Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized rule changes to the Davis Bacon Act, which sets the prevailing wage on federal and federally funded construction work.

According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), the revisions are a bit of a mixed bag, with the DOL putting some of ARTBA’s suggestions into effect.  Among those, the rule no longer offers prevailing wages for time that off-site drivers and suppliers spend on the worksite, clarifies the difference between licensed (salaried) surveyors and hourly workers, and will now allow data from multiple counties in the work area to calculate the prevailing wage.

However, the changes will now set a prevailing wage if it’s paid to at least 30% of surveyed workers in an area (this used to be 50%), and makes prime contractors responsible for their subcontractors’ compliance, holding primes accountable if they don’t pay the prevailing wage.

ARTBA says the rule takes effect 60 days after publication.  Click HERE to view a chart that shows how else the existing rule will change.