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Published: June 28, 2011
Author: Peter Conrad
The just signed 2011-2012 biennial budget made significant changes to Wisconsin’s prevailing wage law. These changes will go into effect on the effective date of the budget bill, which is anticipated to be sometime in the next ten days. Here is a brief summary of those changes:
Project Thresholds
Increases the threshold cost of a project for which prevailing wage applies as follows:
- $48,000 for single trade projects
- $234,000 for multiple trade construction projects conducted by towns, cities, and villages with populations of less than 2,500 provided that the work is contracted with a private contractor
- $100,000 for all other multiple trade municipal and state public works projects
Exemption for Residential Development
Exempts any residential development from laws governing prevailing wage. Residential developments consist of any development where 90 percent of the approved lots contain or will contain a dwelling. Specifies that the exemption applies to any work paid for by a developer and then dedicated to a municipality.
Exemption for Residential Projects
Provides that prevailing wage law does not apply to a project involving construction of a residential property containing two dwelling units or less.
Publicly Funded Private Construction Projects
Repeals the prevailing wage requirement regarding publicly funded private construction projects. A publicly funded private construction project is a project in which the developer receives direct financial assistance from a municipality (e.g. a grant or other arrangement whereby the municipality directly provides funds to assist with the project).
Statewide Concern; Uniformity
Specifies that the statutory prevailing wage provisions must be construed as an enactment of statewide concern for the purpose of providing uniform prevailing wage laws throughout the state. Further, the revised law will prohibit local governments from enacting or administering prevailing wage ordinances and specifies that any ordinance or enactment that is effective as of the date of the statute is void.
Reporting Requirements
Repeals the monthly wage reporting requirements for contractors, subcontractors, or agents thereof.
Inspection of Records
Amends existing law so that DWD does not need to inspect contractor wage records when requested by individuals.
Volunteer Work
Repeals the current exemption from municipal and state prevailing wage laws for public works in which the labor is provided by unpaid volunteers. In its place, specifies that prevailing wage laws do not apply to projects in which the contracting government unit is not required to pay any contractor, subcontractor, agent, or individual for performing the work.
Exemption for Trucking Activities
Under current law, prevailing wage does not apply to a laborer, worker, mechanic, or truck driver who is regularly employed to process, manufacture, pick up, or deliver materials or products from certain locations unless one of the following applies:
- The individual is employed to go to the source of the mineral aggregate that is to be immediately incorporated into the work by depositing the material substantially in place.
- The individual is employed to go to the site of the covered project, pick up excavated material or spoil from the project, and transport the excavated material away from the project site.
Prevailing wage law will be amended such that:
- It will clarify that the individual would not have to be regularly employed in the activities described above to be exempt from coverage.
- It will provide that prevailing wage law does not apply to an individual delivering products from a facility that is not dedicated to a project.
- It will clarify that, to be covered, the individual would have to be employed to go to the source of mineral aggregate and deliver that aggregate to the site of a covered project by depositing the materials directly in their final place, either from the transporting vehicle or through spreaders from the transporting vehicle.
Night Shift Differential and Holiday Pay
Amends the current prevailing wage law regarding certification of prevailing wage rates for highway projects to generally include Sunday pay, holiday pay, and shift differential pay.
Prevailing Wage Survey
Specifies that government units do not have to file a prevailing wage survey if the government unit performs any construction work.
These changes should benefit both municipalities and developers by reducing the burden and costs associated with certain municipal projects. We will continue to monitor changes to prevailing wage laws and provide updates as necessary, as there may be additional modifications proposed in the near future.
For more information about Wisconsin prevailing wage law, contact Peter Conrad at 608.260.2483 or pconrad@axley.com.
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