Guides / How to read a wage determination
The wage determination is the rate sheet for your job. Everything on the certified payroll is measured against it, so reading the right one correctly is the whole game.
A wage determination is the list of minimum base rates and fringe amounts, by classification, that apply to a federally funded job in a specific county for a specific kind of construction. It is published by the Department of Labor and locked to your contract.
Wage determinations live at SAM.gov under wage determinations. You are looking for the one your contract references. If you are checking a job, match the state, the county, and the construction type. Do not go by memory, pull the actual determination number and revision on the contract.
Determinations are split into building, residential, highway, and heavy. The same county can have four different rate sheets, and using the wrong type is a common and expensive miss. A highway rate sheet on a building job, or the reverse, means every rate on your payroll is measured against the wrong numbers.
Each determination has a revision number and date. The version that governs your job is generally the one in effect when the contract was awarded, and it stays locked for the life of that contract even if a newer revision comes out. Pricing against a newer or older revision than the one locked to your contract is a real error.
Each line gives a classification, then a base hourly rate, then a fringe amount. You owe both. The fringe is a separate number on top of the base, which you can meet with cash, a bona fide plan, or a mix. The fringe guide covers how that shows on the form.
If the work someone did has no classification on the determination, do not pick the closest one and hope. That gets you a wrong classification finding. The correct path is a conformance request through the contracting officer to add the classification and a rate.
Not sure you are on the right determination, or reading it right? Send me the payroll and the job details and I will check.
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