Prevailing wage is where good subs lose real money — not because they refuse to pay it, but because they misread a determination, miss an apprenticeship requirement, or find out a “private” job was actually public works. Here’s the working knowledge every California specialty contractor needs.

The short version

  • Prevailing wage applies to work paid in whole or in part with public funds — generally anything over $1,000. The trigger is public money, not public buildings.
  • The DIR publishes rate determinations twice a year (February 22 and August 22), by craft and locality. The rate you owe is the total package: basic hourly plus fringes.
  • Watch for predetermined increases inside the determination — they apply mid-project.
  • On most public jobs over $30,000 you also have apprenticeship obligations: DAS 140 and DAS 142 notices, a 1-to-5 apprentice-to-journeyman hour ratio, and training fund contributions.
  • Every contractor on the job carries its own obligations — the GC’s compliance program can’t absorb yours.

When prevailing wage applies

The trigger is public funds, not public buildings. California’s definition of public works covers construction, alteration, demolition, installation, and repair work done under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of public money — generally anything over $1,000. That includes the obvious (schools, courthouses, city facilities) and the not-so-obvious: private developments with public subsidies, charter school projects, and some utility work.

If you’re not sure, ask before you bid, and get the answer in writing. “We didn’t know it was prevailing wage” has never once erased an underpayment finding.

How to read a determination

The DIR’s Director publishes prevailing wage determinations twice a year (issued February 22 and August 22), by craft and by locality. A determination isn’t one number — it’s a package:

  • Basic hourly rate — the minimum on-the-check wage for the classification
  • Fringe benefits — health and welfare, pension, vacation/holiday, and training contributions
  • Total rate — basic plus fringes; this is the number you owe per hour, one way or another
  • Predetermined increases — many determinations include scheduled raises that take effect mid-project; you’re expected to apply them on schedule, not at the rate you bid

You can pay the fringe portion into bona fide benefit plans and credit those contributions, or pay it as cash on the check — but the total package has to get there. And watch the classification, not just the trade: the rate for the work performed governs, and a worker who spends the afternoon on a different craft’s work may be owed that craft’s rate for those hours.

The apprenticeship rules nobody warns you about

On most public works projects over $30,000, contractors have apprenticeship obligations under the Labor Code, and this is the compliance area that most often blindsides smaller subs:

  • Contract award notice (DAS 140) — you notify the applicable apprenticeship committee(s) that you’ve been awarded public work
  • Requests for dispatch (DAS 142) — you request apprentices from the committee before you can claim they weren’t available
  • The 1-to-5 ratio — as a rule, you must employ at least one hour of apprentice work for every five hours of journeyman work in the craft, per project
  • Training fund contributions — paid to the California Apprenticeship Council or an approved program for every hour worked, journeyman and apprentice alike

Miss the paperwork and the ratio, and penalties accrue per day of violation — even if you’d have happily hired an apprentice had anyone told you the rule existed.

Where subs actually get burned

  • Bidding off stale rates. The determination in force when the project first went to bid usually governs — but predetermined increases inside it still apply. Bid the package, not the first-period number.
  • Site postings and records. Prevailing wage projects require job site postings and impose record-keeping obligations that go beyond a normal private job.
  • Owner-operators and 1099 labor. Misclassifying workers as independent contractors on a public job compounds a wage problem into a much bigger one.
  • Assuming the GC’s compliance covers you. Every contractor on the job carries its own obligations. The GC’s labor compliance program can flag your mistakes; it can’t absorb them.