29 CFR 1.3 – Obtaining and compiling wage rate information
For the purpose of making wage determinations, the Administrator will conduct a continuing program for the obtaining and compiling of wage rate information. In determining the prevailing wages at the time of issuance of a wage determination, the Administrator will be guided by the definition of prevailing wage in § 1.2 and will consider the types of information listed in this section.
Terms Used In 29 CFR 1.3
- Administrator: means the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, U. See 29 CFR 1.2
- area: means the city, town, village, county or other civil subdivision of the State in which the work is to be performed. See 29 CFR 1.2
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- prevailing wage: means :
(1) The wage paid to the majority (more than 50 percent) of the laborers or mechanics in the classification on similar projects in the area during the period in question;
(2) If the same wage is not paid to a majority of those employed in the classification, the prevailing wage will be the wage paid to the greatest number, provided that such greatest number constitutes at least 30 percent of those employed; or
(3) If no wage rate is paid to 30 percent or more of those so employed, the prevailing wage will be the average of the wages paid to those employed in the classification, weighted by the total employed in the classification. See 29 CFR 1.2
(a) The Administrator will encourage the voluntary submission of wage rate data by contractors, contractors’ associations, labor organizations, public officials and other interested parties, reflecting wage rates paid to laborers and mechanics on various types of construction in the area. The Administrator may also obtain data from agencies on wage rates paid on construction projects under their jurisdiction. The information submitted should reflect the wage rates paid to workers employed in a particular classification in an area, the type or types of construction on which such rate or rates are paid, and whether or not such wage rates were paid on Federal or federally assisted projects subject to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements.
(b) The following types of information may be considered in making wage rate determinations:
(1) Statements showing wage rates paid on projects, including the names and addresses of contractors, including subcontractors; the locations, approximate costs, dates of construction and types of projects, as well as whether or not the projects are Federal or federally assisted projects subject to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements; and the number of workers employed in each classification on each project and the respective wage rates paid such workers.
(2) Signed collective bargaining agreements, for which the Administrator may request that the parties to such agreements submit statements certifying to their scope and application.
(3) Wage rates determined for public construction by State and local officials pursuant to State and local prevailing wage legislation.
(4) Wage rate data submitted to the Department of Labor by contracting agencies pursuant to § 5.5(a)(1)(iii) of this subtitle.
(5) For Federal-aid highway projects under 23 U.S.C. § 113, information obtained from the highway department(s) of the State(s) in which the project is to be performed. For such projects, the Administrator must consult the relevant State highway department and give due regard to the information thus obtained.
(6) Any other information pertinent to the determination of prevailing wage rates.
(c) The Administrator may initially obtain or supplement such information obtained on a voluntary basis by such means, including the holding of hearings, and from any sources determined to be necessary. All information of the types described in paragraph (b) of this section, pertinent to the determination of the wages prevailing at the time of issuance of the wage determination, will be evaluated in light of the definition of prevailing wage in § 1.2.
(d) In compiling wage rate data for building and residential wage determinations, the Administrator will not use data from Federal or federally assisted projects subject to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements unless it is determined that there is insufficient wage data to determine the prevailing wages in the absence of such data. Data from Federal or federally assisted projects will be used in compiling wage rate data for heavy and highway wage determinations.
(e) In determining the prevailing wage, the Administrator may treat variable wage rates paid by a contractor or contractors to workers within the same classification as the same wage where the pay rates are functionally equivalent, as explained by one or more collective bargaining agreements or written policies otherwise maintained by a contractor or contractors.
(f) If the Administrator determines that there is insufficient wage survey data to determine the prevailing wage for a classification for which conformance requests are regularly submitted pursuant to § 5.5(a)(1)(iii) of this subtitle, the Administrator may list the classification and wage and fringe benefit rates for the classification on the wage determination, provided that:
(1) The work performed by the classification is not performed by a classification in the wage determination;
(2) The classification is used in the area by the construction industry; and
(3) The wage rate for the classification bears a reasonable relationship to the wage rates contained in the wage determination.
(g) Under the circumstances described in paragraph (h) of this section, the Administrator may make a wage determination by adopting, with or without modification, one or more prevailing wage rates determined for public construction by State and/or local officials. Provided that the conditions in paragraph (h) are met, the Administrator may do so even if the methods and criteria used by State or local officials differ in some respects from those that the Administrator would otherwise use under the Davis-Bacon Act and the regulations in this part. Such differences may include, but are not limited to, a definition of prevailing wage under a State or local prevailing wage law or regulation that differs from the definition in § 1.2, a geographic area or scope that differs from the standards in § 1.7, and/or the restrictions on data use in paragraph (d) of this section.
(h) The Administrator may adopt a State or local wage rate as described in paragraph (g) of this section if the Administrator, after reviewing the rate and the processes used to derive the rate, determines that:
(1) The State or local government sets wage rates, and collects relevant data, using a survey or other process that is open to full participation by all interested parties;
(2) The wage rate reflects both a basic hourly rate of pay as well as any prevailing fringe benefits, each of which can be calculated separately;
(3) The State or local government classifies laborers and mechanics in a manner that is recognized within the field of construction; and
(4) The State or local government’s criteria for setting prevailing wage rates are substantially similar to those the Administrator uses in making wage determinations under this part. This determination will be based on the totality of the circumstances, including, but not limited to, the State or local government’s definition of prevailing wage; the types of fringe benefits it accepts; the information it solicits from interested parties; its classification of construction projects, laborers, and mechanics; and its method for determining the appropriate geographic area(s).
(i) In order to adopt wage rates of a State or local government entity pursuant to paragraphs (g) and (h) of this section, the Administrator must obtain the wage rates and any relevant supporting documentation and data from the State or local government entity. Such information may be submitted via email to dba.statelocalwagerates@dol.gov, via mail to U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Branch of Wage Surveys, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210, or through other means directed by the Administrator.
(j) Nothing in paragraphs (g), (h), and (i) of this section precludes the Administrator from otherwise considering State or local prevailing wage rates, consistent with paragraph (b)(3) of this section, or from giving due regard to information obtained from State highway departments, consistent with paragraph (b)(4) of this section, as part of the Administrator’s process of making prevailing wage determinations under this part.