Difference between revisions of "Category:110 State and Federal Wage Rates and Other Requirements"

Missouri and federal law often require minimum wage rates (pay) for the various skilled trades. These wage rates are specified in the contract at the time of bidding and are enforced by MoDOT and the Department of Labor during the construction of the project. Typical MoDOT contracts that do not require Wage Rate Determinations are railroad adjustments, utility adjustments and some Maintenance funded projects.

Two flowcharts are available to help guide the application of wage rate compliance, one for federally funded projects and one for state funded projects.

110.1 Wage Rates (Guidance for Sec 110.1)

Contractors on MoDOT projects are required to pay either the state or federal prevailing hourly wage rate for any craft or type of worker required to perform the work, except when expressly provided by the contract document.

The state and federal wage rates are posted on MoDOT’s website. Select the desired letting date, click the "View Letting" button and then procede to State Wage Rates and Current Federal Wage Rates.

The resident engineer or delegated representative is responsible for monitoring compliance with the wage rate laws at the project level. Wage Rate Compliance Checks (WRCC) shall be performed on active projects when applicable. WRCC consist of two major items: Reviewing Payrolls and Wage Rate Interviews.

Payrolls, wage rate interviews and all other labor compliance related documents are to be kept in the resident engineer's office for the duration of the project. After project completion, payrolls shall be stored for a period of three years.

110.2 Federal-Aid Projects (Guidance for Sec 110.2)

For any contract where a federal rate applies, the greater of the federal or state rate shall be paid.

Required Notices and Posters

The contracts for highway construction projects require certain information to be conspicuously displayed on the project where employees regularly congregate in preparation for the day's work. Notices and posters may be provided in a binder for mobile operations to give employees an option for accessing the information so long as the project 30 work days or less. Unless the project is less than 30 working days the information should also always be made available on a standard bulletin board. The number of locations will depend on the contractor's operations. The resident engineer, or a delegated representative, is to conduct inspections of the bulletin boards. The first inspection should occur when employees begin work on the project. After the initial review, inspections should be conducted every other month until the project is completed to ensure the bulletin board is in good condition and still displays the required posters.

The following is a list of required information to be posted both on the project and in the resident engineer's office:

Many of the posters can be downloaded from MoDOT’s internet contractor resources website. A checklist of the jobsite posters is also available.

POSTERS AND PACKETS TO BE DISPLAYED:

FEDERAL-AID PROJECTS:

Resident Engineer's Office

1. "Discrimination In Employment is Prohibited by Law in Missouri" (MCHR9) (Spanish version)

2. "Notice" Title 18, United States Code, Section 1020 - FHWA Form 1022

Project Site

1. "Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law"

2. "Igualdad de Oportunidad en el Empleo es La Ley" (Spanish Version of Item 1)

3. "Notice" Title 18, United States Code, Section 1020 - FHWA Form 1022

4. "Wage Rate Information" Federal-Aid Highway Project. Post with Federal Wage Rates. (FHWA Form 1495)

5. "Informacion Sobre Escalas De Salarios Proyecto De La Carretera De Ayuda Federal". (Spanish Version of Item 4) (FHWA Form 1495A)

6. Packet Containing State Wage Rates that apply to the project.

7. "Discrimination In Employment is prohibited by law in Missouri." (MCHR9) (Spanish version)

8. "Company EEO Operating Policy" To include name, address and telephone number of company's EEO Officer.

9. Job Safety & Health Protection 0 OSHA 3165 (English) and OSHA 3167 (Spanish)

10. Environment Permits (if applicable)

11. Your Rights – Federal Minimum Wage WH 1088 (English & Spanish)

12. Notice to Employee Polygraph Protection Act (English & Spanish) – WH-1462

13. Notice to Employees (Davis Bacon) WH-1321 (Spanish)

14. Notice to Workers with Disabilities Paid at Special Minimum Wages WH-1284

After the initial review, the bulletin board should be inspected every other month until the project is completed to ensure the bulletin board is in good condition and still displays the required posters.

15. Your Rights Under Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 – WH-1420 (English & Spanish)

16. ARRA - Know Your Rights Under the Recovery Act (for ARRA projects only)

17. Stormwater Permit Sign

18. Letter Appointing EEO Officer

19. Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (also available en español)

STATE PROJECTS:

Resident Engineer's Office

1. "Discrimination In Employment is Prohibited by Law in Missouri" (MCHR9) (Spanish version)

Project Site

1. "Discrimination In Employment is Prohibited by Law in Missouri" (MCHR9) (Spanish version)

2. Packet Containing State Wage Rates that apply to the project

3. Discrimination in Public Accommodation (MCHR7) (Spanish version)

4. Worker’s Compensation Law (WC106) (Spanish version)

5. Unemployment Benefit Law (MODES-B-2) (Spanish version)

6. Stormwater Permit Sign

110.3 Prevailing Wages and Records (Guidance for Sec 110.3)

Sec 110 indicates the detail that is required of the contractor payroll.

Each prime contractor, contractor, subcontractor and subordinate shall furnish weekly a certified payroll of wages paid to each of their employees on all projects except those that do not contain Wage Rate Determinations by Federal or Missouri law. Payroll information must also include workers on the project provided as part of a rental agreement. One certified copy of labor payrolls must be submitted for each week that work is in progress and a minimum of once each month when work is temporarily suspended. If work is suspended, the last payroll submitted should be appropriately marked to note that it shall be the last payroll for the month, or until work is resumed.

Each payroll shall be accompanied by a statement of compliance signed by the contractor, subcontractor, or their agent who pays or supervises the payment of persons employed under the contract, and shall certify that the payroll for the pay period contains the information required and that such information is correct and complete.

The prime contractor must submit a certified copy of each weekly payroll within 7 days of the payment date of the payroll. The certification may be attached to the payroll or may be on the payroll itself. The prime contractor will be considered responsible for submittal of payrolls and certifications for all subcontractors on the project. The certification must be signed in ink if submitted as a hard copy, or digitally signed if submitted electronically. The prime contractor should be advised that failure to submit these payrolls within the 7-day period will result in delay in submittal of the engineer's payment estimates for those projects involved. The resident engineer shall keep a log of all payrolls received, the date received, and the time period covered. The contractor should be encouraged to utilize the payroll format available from the Missouri Department of Labor, Wage and Hour division, or at least include all of the information cited on the form.

Electronic payrolls should not be printed, but should be saved in the “Pending” folder until checked, then moved to the “Checked” folder. The following steps should be included in all payroll checks to ensure proper labor compliance:

1. Payroll Violations

a. Document any "Payroll Violations" found based on the requirements in this checklist.

b. Notify the contractor of the violation and track the actions taken until it has been corrected.

2. Statement of Compliance

a. Make sure each payroll has a Certified Statement of Compliance with the contractor's original signature or an approved contractor digital signature.

b. Make sure each Statement of Compliance covers one week (seven-day period).

c. If there is no work for the whole month one Certified Statement of Compliance may be submitted showing no work that month.

d. Statement of compliance must list all deductions that are included on the payroll.

3. Number Payroll

a. Every payroll should be numbered. If the Contractor has entered a payroll number make sure that it is correct and change it if it is incorrect. The payroll number should be shown on the upper left hand corner of the Certified Statement of Compliance and on the payroll sheet.

b. Each payroll showing work performed during that time period should be numbered consecutively starting with “1” for the first payroll, “2” for the second, etc.

c. If a payroll shows no work performed then it should be numbered the same number as the payroll received previously followed by a letter (the payroll for week one (or month one) of no work following payroll #6 would be 6A, week two (or month two) of no work following payroll #6 would be 6B, etc.). The next payroll showing work would be #7.

d. Final payrolls should be marked “Final” or “Last Payroll”.

4. Log Payroll

a. Have a system to log each payroll when received.

b. Log Date Received; Payroll Number; Dates Payroll Period Covers.

c. Number Payroll. If contractor has entered a number on the payroll different than what it should be, strike through the contractor’s number and enter the correct number.

5. Name, Address, Identifying Number

Make sure the employee’s full name, identification number (such as last four digits of Social Security Number) and complete address appear on each payroll . The contractor is no longer allowed to include complete Social Security numbers on certified payrolls. Employee addresses are only required for 100% state-funded projects.

6. Classification

a. Check to assure each employee has a classification.

b. Make sure classifications are correct as related to the type of work the company has subcontracted (if applicable).

c. Employees enrolled in the MoDOT training program must be shown on the payroll in the classification they are enrolled in as trainee. (i.e. Crane Operator Trainee, Carpenter, Laborer, etc.)

d. When possible, confirm that employees are classified correctly as to what type work they are performing by using the interview process, jobsite visits, and communication with the inspectors, and by reviewing the Inspector’s Daily Report of Construction.

e. Foremen or supervisors who perform 20% or less of the day with the tools of the trade are exempt from the Davis Bacon Act. They must appear on the payroll as "foreman" or "supervisor" with a breakdown of hours per day and total hours and, since hourly wage rates are not required, they can be listed under Salary Agreement.

f. Foremen or supervisors who work with tools of the trade more than 20% of the day are not entitled to an exemption under the Davis Bacon Act. Thus, if the hourly wage rate is the same for both classifications the employee will be listed on the payroll to show both classifications in which they performed (i.e. Foreman/Carpenter), hours per day listed along with an hourly wage rate, gross amount earned, deductions and net wages paid. But, if the hourly wage rate is not the same for both classifications then multiple listings for the employee shall be included on the payroll to show each classification of work performed in each day along with all the appropriate information.

7. Rate of Pay

a. At least 10% of the pay rates on each payroll shall be checked, including the calculation of total pay. Check employee’s rate of pay against the state and federal wage rates to make sure he/she is receiving at least the minimum for his/her classification as per the prevailing wage schedule in the contract. For federally funded projects the rate of pay is the higher of either the federal or state wage rates.

b. Make sure fringe benefit amount plus base pay amount matches or exceeds the designated fringe benefit amount plus designated base pay amount from the applicable wage order. For example, the base pay amount could be less than that designated as the prevailing wage, if the fringe benefit amount is more than that designated, and the two together meet or exceed the designated gross prevailing wage. The contractor should be encouraged to list the exact fringe paid for each employee on the payroll. If the contractor chooses to certify that the fringe benefits are being paid to approved plans, funds, or programs, the contractor shall provide documentation that the correct payment amount is being paid to the fund for the individual employees.

c. If an apprentice is used on the project (whether or not there is an OJT Goal) the contractor must submit documentation from the Dept. of Labor (DOL) approved apprenticeship program stating that the person is currently registered in the program, the period/ term in the program (including percentage of journeyman payscale), amount of hours completed in apprentice program to date, and the amount of hours needed to reach journey level. Contact MoDOT’s External Civil Rights at (573) 751-1216 for help to determine the proper DOL documentation.

8. Deductions

a. All deductions must be identified. If a deduction of “other” is listed on the payroll it must be explained on the statement of compliance.

b. Some typical deductions include

1) State or federal taxes

2) Voluntary insurance, pension, and/or retirement plans

3) Child support and other payments ordered by a court (but not payments to the employer)

4) Prepaid wages

5) Payments to charitable organizations

6) Union dues when agreed to by the union (fines are not allowable)

c. All deductions must be an approved deduction. (If not on the approved list, documentation giving employee’s permission for the deduction must be on file.)

d. Non-standard deductions can be approved by the Division of Labor on a yearly basis. The contractor must provide documentation along with the payroll when any approved non-standard deductions are in use.

9. Interviews

a. Check all interviews taken within the period covered by the payroll.

b. Conduct Wage Rate Interviews according to the frequencies listed in EPG 110.3.1.

c. Check interviews against payroll, and record all findings in the Wage Interview Log as well as SiteManager.

10. Filing of Payrolls

a. After payrolls have been checked for compliance and corrected if necessary, the checker should sign the payroll in the upper right-hand corner of the first page to indicate review of the payroll is complete. For electronic payroll submittals, a digital signature is applied.

b. Hard copy payrolls should be stored at the project office for a period of three years. Electronic payrolls should be saved in the "Payroll" folder under the "Civil Rights" subfolder in the Contract Information Archive.

Certified Payroll Exceptions

Lead Workers/Foreman/Supervisor

Lead workers must be paid no less than the prevailing hourly wage for the classification they are working in. If a lead worker is salaried, the contractor must provide documentation of the amount actually paid and the hours actually worked. Salaried superintendents are not covered by prevailing wage provisions and are not required to be listed on the certified payroll. Refer to EPG 109.5.1 Daily Force Account Record, Labor Account for additional information.

Professional Services

When a contractor hires a Professional Service to perform a support function that does not fit into a federal or state job classification, those workers do not need to be listed on the certified payroll. Some examples of Professional Services include Material Testing Service, Inspection Service, Smoothness Profiling Service, Surveying/Staking, etc. Even though a Surveying/Staking company is considered a Professional Service and does not require workers to be listed on a certified payroll, it may require a subcontract if there is a contract pay item for this work. Refer to EPG 108.1 Subletting of Contract for additional information. A certified welder hired by a contractor to perform specialty welding would be an example of a Professional Service that would require a certified payroll since that work falls under the classification for Ironworker.

Other Job Duties Performed by Contractor Personnel

When a contractor provides personnel to perform a function that does not fit into a federal or state job classification, those workers do not need to be listed on the payroll. Examples would include Material Testing, Inspection, Surveying/Staking, etc.

Owner-Operator

An owner operator is when a contractor rents a piece of equipment and the operator comes with the rental equipment. A prime contractor can use owner-operators on MoDOT projects according to the Division of Labor. There are certain restrictions that would apply. Only the owner can operate the piece of equipment on site. The owner cannot have other employees on the job. The owner would not be subject to prevailing wage rates and therefore no wage rate interviews will need to be taken. Since this is a rental the prime contractor's insurance would cover the work performed by the owner-operator. The project office should obtain a copy of the contract between the prime contractor and owner-operator. This is to assure that it is a legitimate arrangement and not an attempt to circumvent prevailing wage rate laws.

Equipment Rental with Operator and Purchase Ordered Work

A prime contractor using rental equipment that is provided with an operator, via purchase ordered work or other financial arrangement, must include the operators on the certified payroll of the contractor. All related documentation must be provided by the contractor to substantiate this arrangement. The operators are subject to wage rate interviews and are to be paid prevailing wage on prevailing wage contracts. This is to ensure a legitimate arrangement is being used, not an attempt to circumvent prevailing wage rate laws.

Application of Prevailing Wage off of the Worksite

Some work associated with a project may be performed away from the project site. This work may, or may not, be subject to prevailing wage. A wage flowchart for federal jobs and a wage flowchart for state jobs are provided for reference; however, the contractor is advised to seek legal advice when applying the charts. MoDOT cannot predetermine how the law may be interpreted in any particular instance.

110.3.1 Wage Interviews

The resident engineer or delegated representative is to conduct wage rate interviews as part of WRCC. The wage rate interview checks for compliance with wage rate laws as well as Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws.

Wage interviews shall be conducted at the rate shown on the following table:

At least one interview should be performed during each compliance check. Additional interviews should be performed when the risk of non-compliance is higher. Some examples of when additional interviews should be taken are when a contractor has a past wage rate violation history, when there is high crew turnover, when work observed doesn’t match the payrolls, when errors are found on the payrolls, etc.

On smaller jobs it may be possible to interview every employee over time. There is no need to interview an individual a second time unless additional interviews are justified (see above). Once everyone on a job has been interviewed, a note can be used for documentation and wage interviews can cease until new employees are present on the job.

The interviewer should determine employee's name, employer's name, classification of employee, actual wage paid, and posted wage. All wage rate interviews shall be recorded on the Wage Interview form. All questions on the form should be asked during the interview – as mentioned above, wage rate interviews monitor compliance with wage laws as well as EEO regulations.

Interviews should be noted in SiteManager as a Daily Work Report (DWR) “Wage Interview” remark type. The remark must begin with a single digit numeric character in order for the Cognos report to correctly calculate the number of wage interviews conducted for a given contract (for example, “2 wage interviews conducted today…”).

110.3.2 Errors, Omissions and Non-Compliance

When there is any condition or evidence that suggests that the labor laws are not being fully complied with, the resident engineer shall investigate until satisfied of lawful compliance. Investigations shall be limited in nature and cases beyond our investigative ability should be referred to the Divison of Labor. Poor compliance efforts by the contractor should be noted on the Contractor Performance Evaluation.

When payrolls are not submitted within 7 days and/or contain errors, the resident engineer should notify the contractor and encourage them to improve. Payrolls containing errors should be corrected and resubmitted in a timely manner. When payrolls are routinely late and there is no effort to improve on the contractors part, the resident engineer should withold payment until the next regular estimate date after compliance is attained.

When a wage rate is believed to be below the contractual lawful minimum, the Division of Labor should be notified. The Divison of Labor will open a complaint case at the request of MoDOT, the employee, the union, or other third party. The Divison of Labor will perform an investigation and then close the complaint either as a violation or non-violation. The resident engineer should ensure a copy of all correspondance from the Divison of Labor is kept in the contract files.

110.3.3 Semi-Annual Labor Report

The district construction engineer is to submit a semi-annual report to the main office containing the following information:

a. Number of contractors/subcontractors against whom complaints were received.

b. Number of investigations completed.

c. Number of contractors/subcontractors found in violation.

d. Amount of wage restitution found due under:

(1) Davis-Bacon and related acts.

(2) Work Hours Act of 1962 (The Davis-Bacon Act encompasses prevailing wage rate violations, whereas the Contract Work Hours Act encompasses daily and weekly overtime violations).

e. Number of employees due wage restitution under Davis-Bacon and related acts and/or Work Hours Act of 1962.

f. Amount of liquidated damages assessed under Work Hours Act of 1962.

Due dates for the Semi-Annual Labor report are:

The above report is due not later than April 4 for the period from October 1 to March 31, and not later than October 5 for the period from April 1 to September 30. This report should include all information gathered on Federal Aid Projects. The report should be submitted to Construction and Materials, Central Office, Attention: Chrissy Teter.

110.4 Work Performed in Adjoining States (Guidance for Sec 110.4)

Sec 110 provides information on contracts that involve work in Missouri and in an adjoining state.

110.5 Other Requirements

110.5.1 Open Records Policy (Sunshine Act)

The Missouri Open Records Law (Sunshine Act) requires governmental agencies to conduct business in a manner open and accessible to all citizens and make their records available to the public. The vast majority of our records may be shared with the public upon request. Some information, however, should not be released. When responding to requests for information, the procedures outlined in the Sunshine Act Policy should be followed. The district construction engineer and each resident engineer have been provided a copy of this policy to assist in responding to requests for information. If the request requires the removal of records from the office, personnel must be available at all times to accompany the records to ensure that they are not lost or destroyed.

110.5.2 Equal Employment Opportunity

All federal-aid contracts contain specific requirements related to equal opportunities in employment for all persons or contain requirements of a Hometown Plan with the same objectives. These requirements are as much a contractual obligation as any other part of the standard specifications.

A Resource Manual for Equal Opportunity Contract Compliance is issued to all project offices contains detailed information concerning E.E.O. matters.

The resident engineer has a responsibility to ensure that the contractor and any nonexempt subcontractors are complying with the specific EEO requirements. To assist the resident engineer in this area, Construction & Materials prepared questionnaires, Resident Engineer EEO Checklist, to be used for checking the various aspects of the EEO Compliance portion of the Federal-Aid contract. Detailed instructions are contained in the E.E.O. Contract Compliance Resource Manual. A statement of compliance must be completed by all contractors on the project, excluding suppliers and vendors.

From time to time, contractors and subcontractors may be subjected to a detailed compliance review. This may be conducted by the Federal Highway Administration or by External Civil Rights Administration. On occasion, this may be done by both representatives. The district may also be requested to conduct such reviews as needed. The reviews will take place at the jobsite and include interviewing the contractor’s workforce.