Resources for New York prevailing wage contractors

To calculate for the hourly cash credit, the Department of Labor’s regulation on supplements provides the formula for making that determination.
a) Determine the actual annual contribution made for supplements for each employee.
b) Determine the total annual hours worked by each employee on both public and private work.
c) Divide the actual contribution or cost in (a) by the total number of hours worked in (b).
After determining the credit, the difference between the hourly credit amount and the supplement amount, if any, must Should there be a difference between the required supplement amount and the hourly credit amount once credit is determined, the same must be computed based on the employee’s weekly wages.
If the total hours worked by the employee is not and cannot be provided by the employer, the Commissioner of Labor will:
1. Divide the amount in (a) above by 2080 hours (8 hours per day x 5 days per week x 52 weeks); or
2. Divide the amount in (a) above) by 1820 hours (7 hours per day x 5 days per week x 52 weeks) where proof is provided establishing that the employee worked only 7 hours per day.

All contributions to your employees’ benefit plans must be annualized, without any exceptions. A contribution can be made to a bona fide benefit plan on behalf of the employee. If the latter is chosen and contributions are not made on an hourly basis for all hours worked by the employee, both public and private, then the hourly cash credit the employer receives for supplement contributions must be determined (i.e. annualization).

Prevailing Wage supplements can be provided to the employee in the following ways:
1. Paid in cash
2. Through irrevocable contributions to a bona fide fund, plan or program
3. Combination of the first two methods

“Every contractor, and subcontractor, shall submit to the department of jurisdiction within thirty days after issuance of its first payroll, and every thirty days thereafter, a transcript of the original payroll records, as provided by this Article, subscribed and affirmed as true…” (Section 220, subd. 3-a)

The Bureau of Public Works website has all the necessary prevailing wage forms and documentations.

All contractors and subcontractors must keep a record of original payrolls and transcripts that show the number of hours and days worked by each wage worker. These documents must also contain the occupation the worker has worked, the hourly wages, and the supplements provided.

Cost of training vary by program, locality and project. Please refer to your program for specific instructions.

Information on apprentice rates can be found in the New York Department of Labor website. The apprentice rates can be found on the same wage decision as the journeyman wages by locality.

The employee must be individually registered in an apprenticeship program that is duly registered with the Commissioner of Labor. The apprenticeship program must also be registered by the employer with the DOL.

None, there is no mandated hourly training rate that you must pay, in the event that you do not hire apprentices.

Contractors who wish to employ and train apprentices have to register their apprenticeship program to the DOL and hire their own apprentices. If you are unable to qualify for a sponsored apprenticeship program, the ABC Merit Apprentice Alliance is an apprentice program for non-union contractors. It was created for contractors who cannot have their own sponsored program, but wish to bid on Prevailing Wage projects that require apprentices. The apprentice is trained by the ABC Merit Apprentice Alliance, but the contractor would hire them and train them. This alliance was created specifically to manage apprentices for non-union contractors.

The state does not specifically require hiring of apprentices, but state agencies or municipalities may require apprentices for each project. This varies by bidding area, municipality or project. Many projects in New York are PLA projects and must hire and train apprentices.

You can find any update and changes in the changes and/or corrections section of the Bureau of Public Works website.

Any error corrections or updates in the annual determination will be posted to the Department’s website on the first business day of each month. You are then required to pay for these updated rates, retroactive to July 1st.

When reviewing a prevailing wage schedule for a particular occupation, check the dates above the column rates. These refer to the effectivity dates of additional adjustments on the prevailing wage.

Bona fide labor organizations and employers from the private sector (who employ at least 30% of workers in the same occupation) enter bargaining agreements to determine the prevailing wage rates in a locality.

The Commissioner of Labor enforces the prevailing wage requirements on all government projects, with the exception of projects led by the City of New York. The New York City Comptroller is responsible for the enforcement of prevailing wage regulations in the City of New York.

The Bureau of Public Works enforces New York Prevailing Wage regulations and covers all public work projects, except Federal or HUD projects. Federal or HUD projects are under the jurisdiction of the New York Department of Labor.