Prevailing wage requirements may apply when a contractor performs public works, construction, alteration, repair, or certain service work for a public agency or under federally funded or federally assisted contracts.
The purpose of this page is to help contractors understand where to check wage determinations, what questions to ask before bidding, and why wage compliance should be reviewed before pricing a public contract.
Prevailing wage requirements can affect labor cost, fringe benefits, certified payroll, apprenticeship obligations, bid pricing, and contract compliance.
Open CA DIR Prevailing Wage →California public works projects may require workers to be paid the prevailing wage determined by the Director of Industrial Relations based on the type of work and project location.
Federal and federally assisted construction projects may be subject to Davis-Bacon and Related Acts wage requirements, including locally prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates.
Some federal service contracts may fall under Service Contract Act wage determinations. Contractors should check the solicitation and SAM.gov wage determination requirements.
In California, prevailing wage laws are tied to public works projects. Contractors and subcontractors should confirm whether the project is considered public work, whether DIR registration is required, and what wage determination applies before submitting a bid.
Some California public works contracts require proof of DIR public works contractor registration. DIR identifies registration options for one, two, or three fiscal years, and public works contractor registration runs on the fiscal year cycle from July 1 through June 30.
Use the DIR prevailing wage determination tools to locate the applicable wage rate by county, craft, classification, and determination period.
Start with the Director’s General Prevailing Wage Determinations page or the DIR public works prevailing wage page.
Use the current active determination period unless the solicitation or contract identifies a specific applicable determination.
Choose the project county and the craft, trade, or worker classification that matches the actual work being performed.
Prevailing wage determinations may include base hourly rates, fringe benefits, training contributions, overtime rules, holidays, scopes of work, and footnotes.
Use the wage determination to price labor, fringe benefits, payroll burden, certified payroll administration, subcontractor costs, and schedule risk.
Federal prevailing wage requirements depend on the type of work, the contract, and the funding source. Construction work is commonly reviewed under Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, while federal service contracts may be reviewed under Service Contract Act wage determinations.
Davis-Bacon and Related Acts generally apply to covered federal or federally assisted contracts over $2,000 for construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or public works. Covered contractors and subcontractors must pay applicable prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates.
Some federal service contracts require Service Contract Act wage determinations. Contractors should review the solicitation, wage determination attachment, place of performance, labor categories, and any applicable collective bargaining agreement references.
SAM.gov is the federal source used to search wage determinations for covered construction and service contracts.
Go to the wage determinations section of SAM.gov and choose the appropriate wage determination search path.
For construction, alteration, or repair work, review Construction DBA. For service work, review Service Contracts SCA.
Select the state, county, city, or place of performance listed in the solicitation or contract.
Confirm job classifications, wage rates, fringe benefits, effective dates, notes, and any special provisions.
Build the wage determination into labor costs, benefits, subcontractor pricing, payroll records, compliance time, and proposal assumptions.
Prevailing wage can significantly affect the real cost of performance. Before submitting a bid, contractors should confirm wage coverage, classifications, required benefits, payroll obligations, and compliance responsibilities.
Many contractors underprice public work because they only price the hourly rate and forget the associated compliance requirements, fringe benefits, subcontractor flow-downs, and documentation burden.
