Labor & Industries Improves Prevailing Wage Correction Notifications

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has instituted positive changes to ensure that public agencies and contractors are appropriately notified of changes in prevailing wage rates, and that the Department is in compliance with their regulations for when corrections become effective.

L&I publishes new prevailing wage rates twice a year, the first business day of February and the first business day of August. Wages become effective 30 days from publication. L&I's regulations also state that corrections to wage rates become effective 30 days after the correction has been published.

In addition to notifying those on L&I's e-mail notification list, they are now publishing on their website a Wage Rate Correction Notice listing (http://www.lni.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/PrevWage/WageRates/Printable/default.asp).

Thus, for the wages published on February 2, 2009 and effective on March 4, 2009, L&I has already issued one correction to prevailing wage rates for Drywall Taper Apprentices. Click here to read the actual correction notice. The correction was published by L&I on February 4, 2009 and it becomes effective on March 6, 2009. This change in practice is now consistent with WAC 296-127-011. Previously, L&I was making corrections effective the same day as the original wage rates that were published.

A user can now click on L&I's website and then further click on the listing for corrections.

Public agencies and contractors do still need to be aware, however, that prevailing wage rates printed from L&I's website should be printed just prior to publication of the bidding document to ensure that the most current wage listing is being included in the documents. This is necessary because, even though L&I now has a notice of corrections online, the main listing of wages does not contain any indication of the date or nature of any corrections that may have been made.

Labor and Industries is to be commended for this positive step in improving the flow of communication to public agencies and contractors.