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Prevailing Wage

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(@spledeus)
Posts: 2772
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Topic starter
 

So we have been asked to perform some layout with prevailing wage.
We increased the charge rate of the crew by the difference in the pay rate and rounded up.
The contractor felt our rates were too high.

I don't need the work and if we cannot recover the multiplier on the basic salary, I do not want to do the work.

Thoughts?

 
Posted : November 5, 2015 11:57 am
(@kevin-hines)
Posts: 874
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I think you should stick to your decision. There is no reason to give your work away or to perform a service at a reduced rate and reshuffle your schedule in doing so.

 
Posted : November 5, 2015 12:49 pm
(@lee-d)
Posts: 2382
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spledeus, post: 343176, member: 3579 wrote: I don't need the work and if we cannot recover the multiplier on the basic salary, I do not want to do the work.

I think you answered your own question.

 
Posted : November 5, 2015 1:22 pm
(@paden-cash)
Posts: 11088
 

I'm assuming the contractor is subject to the same prevailing wage scale. How in the world can he justify his subjection to prevailing wage, and then turn around and tell a sub-contractor his fees are too high under the same scale?

Don't walk away.

run

 
Posted : November 5, 2015 1:44 pm
(@imaudigger)
Posts: 2958
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Prevailing wage jobs get additional scrutiny by the feds and the states.

The agency managing the contract is usually subject to several audits for 3 years after the project is completed. If one of those audits detect a problem with your payroll records, they will audit YOUR prevailing wage projects going back 3 years. The fines can be up to 100 dollars per employee per day that the wages were not correct. They can interview your current and former employees to see if you made them work through lunch every day...did you get a break? Ect. ect.

I have heard of some fairly hefty labor compliance fines brought on by disgruntled employees or competing contractors.

Companies that do not perform prevailing wage work very often, usually always have problems with their payroll records.

Problems relate to not detecting that wages have updated, assuming the wage is locked in at the time of bid opening, not paying the correct fringe benefits, not paying the correct overtime rate, not providing certified payroll records, including fringe benefit statements, compliance statements, statements of non-performance, ect.

It IS usually a nice benefit to the employee to be paid prevailing wages.

 
Posted : November 5, 2015 2:03 pm
(@t-ray)
Posts: 184
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Don't forget the additional work involved for your office people to do the certified payroll associated with the prevailing wages! I usually add a few more $ per hour to cover that too!

 
Posted : November 5, 2015 7:12 pm
(@spledeus)
Posts: 2772
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Topic starter
 

Thank you all.
The contractor is regrouping and has delayed the staking. Perhaps he is calling every other local surveyor looking for a better fee. Foggy, you hear about the bridge?

 
Posted : November 5, 2015 7:23 pm