In Pennsylvania, prevailing wage is a rate of pay set by the PA Department of Labor and Industry for specific contract workers completing public works projects.
The department, “through the Bureau of Labor Law Compliance, determines prevailing wage rates for the construction industry and enforces the rates and classifications under heavy, highway and building construction projects of $25,000 or more when public funds are involved” (Prevailing Wage Project, n.d.).
It is mandatory to pay the wage rates to employees if the project meets the qualifications set by the state. This means that you may be paying your employee more than their typical hourly pay rate.
Prevailing wage rates are unique to each classification. From boilermakers, to millwrights, and truck drivers, each position has a different pay rate and fringe benefits. It is the contractor’s responsibility to obtain these rates from the state. All of this paperwork must be done via certified payroll and turned back into the state to show that employees were paid correctly.
To learn more about prevailing wages in the state of Pennsylvania, click here.
Reference
Prevailing Wage Project. Department of Labor & Industry. (n.d.). https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Labor-Management-Relations/llc/prevailing-wage/Pages/default.aspx.
