1. When is the prevailing wage rate used?
2. What is the definition of a public works or related projects?
3. Are there project monetary thresholds?
4. Are any types of projects specifically exempted?
5. What is included in the calculation of wage rates?
6. Who calculates the prevailing wage rates?
7. Enforcement: what are the penalties for violations? Criminal or fines?
8. Can contractors be debarred?
9. Are there posting requirements?
10. Does the agency retain any fines for enforcement (i.e. an enforcement fund)?
11. Record Maintenance?
12. Are there any provisions which discuss apprentices?
13. Informal Opinion of the Attorney General’s Office of Washington State on Certified Payroll Records
When is the prevailing wage rate used?
No information at this time
What is the definition of a public works or related projects?
There is no definition given for public works.
Are there project monetary thresholds?
There are no monetary thresholds pertaining to the prevailing wage laws in Washington. (U.S. Department of Labor)
Are any types of projects specifically exempted?
There are no exemptions pertaining to projects
What is included in the calculation of wage rates?
A. The rate of hourly wage, usual benefits, and overtime paid in the locality. (RCW 39.12.010)
B. The "usual benefits" for the purposes of this chapter shall include the amount of:(a) The rate of contribution irrevocably made by a contractor or subcontractor to a trustee or to a third person pursuant to a fund, plan, or program; and(b) The rate of costs to the contractor or subcontractor which may be reasonably anticipated in providing benefits to workers, laborers, and mechanics pursuant to an enforceable commitment to carry out a financially responsible plan or program which was communicated in writing to the workers, laborers, and mechanics affected, for medical or hospital care, pensions on retirement or death, compensation for injuries or illness resulting from occupational activity, or insurance to provide any of the foregoing, for unemployment benefits, life insurance, disability and sickness insurance, or accident insurance, for vacation and holiday pay, for defraying costs of apprenticeship or other similar programs, or for other bona fide fringe benefits, but only where the contractor or subcontractor is not required by other federal, state, or local law to provide any of such benefits. (RCW 39.12.010)
Who calculates the prevailing wage rates?
All determinations of the prevailing rate of wage shall be made by the industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries. (RCW 39.12.015)
Enforcement: what are the penalties for violations? Criminal or fines?
A. If any agency of the state, or any county, municipality, or political subdivision created by its laws shall knowingly fail to comply with the provisions of RCW 39.12.040 as now or hereafter amended, such agency of the state, or county, municipality, or political subdivision created by its laws, shall be liable to all workers, laborers, or mechanics to the full extent and for the full amount of wages due, pursuant to the prevailing wage requirements of RCW 39.12.020. (RCW 39.12.042)
B. Any contractor or subcontractor who files a false statement or fails to file any statement or record required to be filed under this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter, shall, after a determination to that effect has been issued by the director after hearing under chapter 34.05 RCW, forfeit as a civil penalty the sum of five hundred dollars for each false filing or failure to file, and shall not be permitted to bid, or have a bid considered, on any public works contract until the penalty has been paid in full to the director. The civil penalty under this subsection shall not apply to a violation determined by the director to be an inadvertent filing or reporting error. Civil penalties shall be deposited in the public works administration account. (RCW 39.12.050)To the extent that a contractor or subcontractor has not paid wages at the rate due pursuant to RCW 39.12.020, and a finding to that effect has been made as provided by this subsection, such unpaid wages shall constitute a lien against the bonds and retainage as provided in RCW 18.27.040, 19.28.041, 39.08.010, and 60.28.010. (RCW 39.12.050)(2) If a contractor or subcontractor is found to have violated the provisions of subsection (1) of this section for a second time within a five year period, the contractor or subcontractor shall be subject to the sanctions prescribed in subsection (1) of this section and shall not be allowed to bid on any public works contract for one year. The one year period shall run from the date of notice by the director of the determination of noncompliance. When an appeal is taken from the director's determination, the one year period shall commence from the date of the final determination of the appeal.The director shall issue his or her findings that a contractor or subcontractor has violated the provisions of this subsection after a hearing held subject to the provisions of chapter 34.05 RCW. (RCW 39.12.050)
C. A contractor or subcontractor that is found, in accordance with subsection (1) of this section, to have violated the requirement to pay the prevailing rate of wage shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than one thousand dollars or an amount equal to twenty percent of the total prevailing wage violation found on the contract, whichever is greater, and shall not be permitted to bid, or have a bid considered, on any public works contract until such civil penalty has been paid in full to the director. If a contractor or subcontractor is found to have participated in a violation of the requirement to pay the prevailing rate of wage for a second time within a five-year period, the contractor or subcontractor shall be subject to the sanctions prescribed in this subsection and as an additional sanction shall not be allowed to bid on any public works contract for two years. Civil penalties shall be deposited in the public works administration account. If a previous or subsequent violation of a requirement to pay a prevailing rate of wage under federal or other state law is found against the contractor or subcontractor within five years from a violation under this section, the contractor or subcontractor shall not be allowed to bid on any public works contract for two years. A contractor or subcontractor shall not be barred from bidding on any public works contract if the contractor or subcontractor relied upon written information from the department to pay a prevailing rate of wage that is later determined to be in violation of this chapter. The civil penalty and sanctions under this subsection shall not apply to a violation determined by the director to be an inadvertent filing or reporting error. To the extent that a contractor or subcontractor has not paid the prevailing wage rate under a determination issued as provided in subsection (1) of this section, the unpaid wages shall constitute a lien against the bonds and retainage as provided herein and in RCW 18.27.040, 19.28.041, 39.08.010, and 60.28.010. (RCW 39.12.065)
Can contractors be debarred?
A. Any contractor or subcontractor who files a false statement or fails to file any statement or record required to be filed under this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter, shall, after a determination to that effect has been issued by the director after hearing under chapter 34.05 RCW, forfeit as a civil penalty the sum of five hundred dollars for each false filing or failure to file, and shall not be permitted to bid, or have a bid considered, on any public works contract until the penalty has been paid in full to the director. The civil penalty under this subsection shall not apply to a violation determined by the director to be an inadvertent filing or reporting error. Civil penalties shall be deposited in the public works administration account. (RCW 39.12.050)
B. If a contractor or subcontractor is found to have violated the provisions of subsection (1) of this section for a second time within a five year period, the contractor or subcontractor shall be subject to the sanctions prescribed in subsection (1) of this section and shall not be allowed to bid on any public works contract for one year. The one year period shall run from the date of notice by the director of the determination of noncompliance. When an appeal is taken from the director's determination, the one year period shall commence from the date of the final determination of the appeal.The director shall issue his or her findings that a contractor or subcontractor has violated the provisions of this subsection after a hearing held subject to the provisions of chapter 34.05 RCW. (RCW 39.12.050)
Are there posting requirements?
For a contract in excess of ten thousand dollars, a contractor required to pay the prevailing rate of wage shall post in a location readily visible to workers at the job site: PROVIDED, That on road construction, sewer line, pipeline, transmission line, street, or alley improvement projects for which no field office is needed or established, a contractor may post the prevailing rate of wage statement at the contractor's local office, gravel crushing, concrete, or asphalt batch plant as long as the contractor provides a copy of the wage statement to any employee on request:(1) A copy of a statement of intent to pay prevailing wages approved by the industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries under RCW 39.12.040; and(2) The address and telephone number of the industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries where a complaint or inquiry concerning prevailing wages may be made.This chapter shall not apply to workers or other persons regularly employed on monthly or per diem salary by the state, or any county, municipality, or political subdivision created by its laws. (RCW 39.12.020)
Does the agency retain any fines for enforcement (i.e. an enforcement fund)?
The public works administration account is created in the state treasury. The department of labor and industries shall deposit in the account all moneys received from fees or civil penalties collected under RCW 39.12.050, 39.12.065, and 39.12.070. Appropriations from the account, not including moneys transferred to the general fund pursuant to RCW 39.12.070, may be made only for the purposes of administration of this chapter, including, but not limited to, the performance of adequate wage surveys, and for the investigation and enforcement of all alleged violations of this chapter as provided for in this chapter and chapters 49.48 and 49.52 RCW. (RCW39.12.080)
Record Maintenance?
A. For a contract in excess of ten thousand dollars, the statement of intent to pay prevailing wages shall include:(a) The contractor's registration certificate number; and(b) The prevailing rate of wage for each classification of workers entitled to prevailing wages under RCW 39.12.020 and the estimated number of workers in each classification. Each statement of intent to pay prevailing wages must be approved by the industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries before it is submitted to said officer. Unless otherwise authorized by the department of labor and industries, each voucher claim submitted by a contractor for payment on a project estimate shall state that the prevailing wages have been paid in accordance with the prefiled statement or statements of intent to pay prevailing wages on file with the public agency. Following the final acceptance of a public works project, it shall be the duty of the officer charged with the disbursement of public funds, to require the contractor and each and every subcontractor from the contractor or a subcontractor to submit to such officer an "Affidavit of Wages Paid" before the funds retained according to the provisions of RCW 60.28.010 are released to the contractor. Each affidavit of wages paid must be certified by the industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries before it is submitted to said officer. (RCW 39.12.040)
B. Upon final acceptance of the public works project, the awarding agency shall require the contractor or subcontractor to submit an affidavit of wages paid. Upon receipt of the affidavit of wages paid, the awarding agency may pay the contractor or subcontractor in full, including funds that would otherwise be retained according to the provisions of RCW 60.28.010. Within thirty days of receipt of the affidavit of wages paid, the awarding agency shall submit the affidavit of wages paid to the industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries for approval. (RCW 39.12.040)
Are there any provisions which discuss apprentices?
A. An "interested party" for the purposes of this chapter shall include a contractor, subcontractor, an employee of a contractor or subcontractor, an organization whose members' wages, benefits, and conditions of employment are affected by this chapter, and the director of labor and industries or the director's designee. (RCW 39.12.010)
B. Apprentice workers employed upon public works projects for whom an apprenticeship agreement has been registered and approved with the state apprenticeship council pursuant to chapter 49.04 RCW, must be paid at least the prevailing hourly rate for an apprentice of that trade. Any worker for whom an apprenticeship agreement has not been registered and approved by the state apprenticeship council shall be considered to be a fully qualified journey level worker, and, therefore, shall be paid at the prevailing hourly rate for journey level workers. (RCW 39.12.021)
Informal Opinion of the Attorney General’s Office of Washington State on Certified Payroll Records
A. Some Questions Answered - Click Here 
References
1.) Chapter 39.12 RCW: Prevailing Wages on Public Works
2.) United States Department of Labor
* This web-site gives a table with all of the states prevailing wage thresholds.