Resources for California prevailing wage contractors

The prevailing wage rates (as well as the apprenticeship rates) in Northern and Southern California are not the same. The apprenticeship rates differ depending on the trade and the county of the prevailing wage worker. In the website of the California Department of Industrial Relations, they wage decisions have 5 categories:

(a) state-wide decisions which involves various trades have similar rates throughout the state;
(b) decisions by Northern California that can only be applied to counties called out on the wage decision;
(c) decisions by Southern California that can only be applied to counties called out on the wage decision;
(d) decisions in San Diego can only be applied in the county of San Diego, and;
(e) county decisions with specialty sub-trades listed in an excel format.

To view the Davis-Bacon Act rates for prevailing wage California, visit Wage Determinations Online. Journeyman determinations by California’s Department of Industrial Relations will be published separately by the Division of Labor Statistics and Research. Since California has its own prevailing wage rates and laws, make sure that your project is a federal Davis-Bacon project before using the listed rates.

If the issued prevailing wage determination rates does not cover a particular trade or craft, a special prevailing wage determination request can be made by the prevailing wage contractors and the contracting agency. The special determination request must be done 45 days before the advertisement date of the bid.

Like the federal government, the California Department of Industrial Relations determines the prevailing wage rate from the hourly rate paid to workers (with same craft or trade) in public works projects within the locality or labor market area. If no single rate has been found for the majority, the single rate for the most number of workers will be considered as the prevailing wage rate.