Recently, I was asked if the threshold for the Pa. Prevailing Wage Act had been increased to $100,000. The answer is no. The threshold is still $25,000, except for a narrow exception which is explained in this earlier blog post.
In general, the Prevailing Wage Act mandates that workers on Pennsylvania public construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration, or repair projects costing more than $25,000, other than those involving “maintenance work,” must be paid the general prevailing minimum wage rates. “Maintenance work” is defined in the Act as “the repair of existing facilities when the size, type or extent of such facilities is not thereby changed or increased.” By definition, “maintenance work” is a subset for “repair” and therefore must be narrowly construed.
As explained in this earlier blog post, an intentional violation of the Wage Act can and will result in a debarment for three years. The Pa. Department of General Services maintains a list of debarred contractors, nearly all of whom landed on the list due to intentional violations of the Wage Act. Don’t end up the list!
The Prevailing Wage Act can be found here. The Prevailing Wage Act regulations can be found here.
If you need assistance on a prevailing wage issue, call or email me for a no-cost consultation. I’ll be happy to assist in anyway possible.
Christopher I. McCabe, Esq.
