Prevailing Wage: Details, Laws and Enforcement
The prevailing wage law of the City and County of Denver is established in Section 20-76 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code (DRMC). The law generally declares that any contractor or subcontractor, at any tier, performing construction, alteration, improvement, repair, maintenance, demolition, or janitorial work on any public building or public work costing $2,000 or more, must pay their employees working on those projects nothing less than the appropriate rate for the classification of worker.
Pursuant to DRMC Section 20-76, the Career Service Board is responsible for determining the prevailing wage rates used on city and County of Denver projects. The board makes such determinations at least every six months, or as frequently as is considered necessary by the board.
The prevailing wage rates determined by the board have the following effect:
- The rates apply to various work classifications for regular pay, overtime and fringe benefits.
- The rates apply to existing contracts with terms exceeding a 12-month period from the date of execution.
- New rates, whether increased or decreased from prior rate, apply to existing contracts when the yearly anniversary date is reached.
- Any additional increase in cost as a result of increased rates is the liability of all contractors and subcontractors who have entered into contracts with the City for applicable work.
The Denver City Auditor is responsible to enforce the City's prevailing wage requirements. DRMC Section 20-76(d), Mandatory Contract Provisions; Enforcement, requires of every applicable contract the following:
- The contract shall contain a provision requiring the contractor and subcontractors to pay not less than the proper prevailing wage.
- The contract shall provide that employees are paid at least once a week the full amount due them at the time of payment.
- The contract shall provide that should a contractor or subcontractor fail to pay the proper wage the Auditor shall not approve any payment to the contractor until furnished evidence form the contractor has been provided that the payment in question has been corrected.
- The contract shall provide that the contractor or subcontractor furnish to the Auditor, on a weekly basis, a true and correct copy of the payroll records of all workers, laborers, and mechanics employed to work on the City project.
- The contract shall further provide that a sworn statement of the contractor or subcontractor must accompany the payroll records submitted to the Auditor certifying they are true and correct.
Auditor's Office Announces New Electronic Certified Payroll System
The Denver Auditor's Office, Prevailing Wage section is happy to announce a new partnership with LCPTracker,
http://www.LCPtracker.com/ a new program that allows contractors to submit certified payrolls electronically.
There is no cost to the contractors for this program. For the many companies who have implemented this system the biggest benefit appears to be a faster interval between the time the payrolls are entered and project payments are received.
Please visit the LCPTracker website http://www.LCPtracker.com/, and check out the program. If you have additional questions after you review the program, please call Rob Merritt, Prevailing Wage Supervisor at 720.913.5036.