Texas Prevailing Wage Information
GENERAL INFORAMTION
Texas adopted a prevailing wage statute in 1933 that was titled Vernon’s Civil Statutes 5159a and then amended and re-codified in 1995 to Texas Government Code Chapter 2258 (Prevailing Wage Rates). Chapter 2258 was amended by HB 2625 in the 80th Legislative Session in 2007. The Legislature removed language that restricted political subdivisions in the state from adopting or using the Federal Davis/Bacon Wage Determinations, if the publication of that survey was over three (3) old. Effective September 1, 2007, all political subdivisions in the State of Texas may adopt the Federal Davis/Bacon Wage Determinations and subsequent modifications without having to spend taxpayer dollars to conduct new wage surveys. To date, Texas has a total of 255 counties and each political subdivision within these counties has a choice to adopt Davis-Bacon or Chapter 2258 regulations. Each subdivision that adopts Chapter 2258 is in charge of enforcing the regulation.
The cities that have adopted Davis/Bacon for their local political subdivisions are:
1) Austin
2) Baytown
3) Houston
4) Houston Airports
5) Lubbock
6) Pasadena
7) Texas City
8) Galveston County
9) Galveston County College of Mainland
10) Harris County
11) Harris County Hospital District
12) Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Harris County
13) Texas Facilities Commission
Partial list
THRESHOLD
The Texas prevailing wage statute does not require a minimum monetary threshold amount that must be met for prevailing wages to apply to public works construction projects.
TIMING OF WAGE DETERMINATIONS & INCREASES
Texas does not publish annual prevailing wage determinations. The prevailing wage is determined by using the rate determined by the U.S. DOL to be the prevailing wage under the Davis/Bacon Act. Technically, the wage rates can also be set by survey, but the State of Texas has not conducted a prevailing wage survey for many years.
OVERTIME
Texas does not have different daily overtime laws per trade. An employee that works any hours in excess of 40 per week must receive overtime compensation at a rate of time and a half of the base rate.(OT is on the base wage rate and not the fringe benefit amount). Be aware that local public agency may adopt daily overtime rules or other rules relating to the submission of forms, etc.
WORKING ON THE WEEKENDS
Texas prevailing wage law does not maintain different rates for working on the weekend. Any hours worked in excess of forty hours per week are compensated at time and one-half.
WORKING ON LEGAL HOLIDAYS
Texas Prevailing Wage Law does not compensate employees for working on legal holidays.
SHIFT DIFFERENTIALS
Prevailing wage determinations used in any federal, state, county, school district, university system, or other public entity does not establish different rates based on the shift worked. However, Collective Bargaining Agreements that work on public projects do have different prevailing wages based on shift worked. In other words, the Texas state law only sets standards to the minimum rate each craft can be paid. The company that is awarded the contract can pay more if the CBA wage and fringes are higher (including shift work premiums if included in the CBA also).
FRINGE BENEFITS
Under Texas prevailing wage law, “prevailing wage” means a base hourly wage rate plus fringe benefits. Examples of “fringe benefits” include the following: 1) life insurance; 2) health insurance; 3) pension; 4) vacation; 5) holidays; 6) sick leave.
*Please Note—the following are not fringe benefits: use of a truck; Thanksgiving turkey; Christmas bonus; periodic bonus; or any benefit required by federal/state law (e.g., workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, social security compensations).
TRAINING CONTRIBUTION
Texas prevailing wage law does not require that training contributions be paid on behalf of workers.
APPRENTICE REQUIREMENTS
According to Texas state law, to be an apprentice, the employee must be registered under a bona fide apprentice program. If an apprentices is used, wages are set by the applicable Apprenticeship Standards Agreement and are communicated to the contractor through the “dispatch slip”.
Apprentices must be supervised at all times. Also the ASA will establish a journeyman to apprentice ratio. If an apprentice works unsupervised or out of ratio, the apprentice must be paid the full journeyman wage and fringe amount.
TRAVEL & SUBSISTENCE
Travel time on a government-contract prevailing wage job must be paid at the prevailing wage rate associated with that particular job. Travel time on a job not covered by prevailing wage laws may be by agreement, (i.e., either at the regular hourly rate of pay, or at a different rate in which case the weighted-average method of computing overtime pay would be used for any overtime arising from such work).
CONTRACTOR LICENSING
The Texas Department of Licensing and Texas Board of Plumbing Examiners oversee that licensing requirements are met.
Only specialty contractors, including HVAC, fire sprinkler systems, plumbing, electricians, elevators and well drilling/pump installation specialists, need to be licensed in Texas. Home builders are not licensed, but are required to register with the state.
REQUIRED AND OPTIONAL POSTERS
Prevailing wage rates are required to be posted at the jobsite.
Workplace compliance posters required to be displayed can vary from one employer to another. Posters can be printed free of charge directly from links on this page or by following links to the U.S. Department of Labor.
All Texas employers must display posters containing information on the Texas Payday Law, the Workers' Compensation Program, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Employers do not need to purchase required posters from private vendors. Government-issued compliance posters do not have to be laminated to satisfy an employer's regulatory obligation.
Employers needing additional information about which posters they need to display can call TWC's Labor Law unit at 800-832-9243 or 512-475-2670 or go to (all free of charge) http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/lablaw/posters.html.
PENALTIES
Failure to pay correct prevailing wages
A contractor or subcontractor who violates Chapter 2258 of the Texas Government Code must pay to the City, $60 per each worker employed for each calendar day or part of the day that the worker is paid less than the wage rates.
Failure to maintain correct payrolls
The contractor will be penalized $60.00 a day for each employee who is underpaid per Texas Government Code 2258-023 for all contracts except Federally Funded Contract if he or she fails to maintain correct certified payrolls.
Criminal Offenses
A contractor or subcontractor of a public work or an agent or representative of the contractor or subcontractor that violates Section 2258.058(b) commits a criminal offense. A criminal offense under this section is punishable by: 1) a fine that does not excess $500; or 2) confinement in jail for a term that does not exceed six months; or 3) both a fine and confinement. 2258.058(c).
DEBARMENT
Under Chapter 2258, no debarment provision is established. Moreover, there is no official website that lists debarred employees.
Texas adopted a prevailing wage statute in 1933 that was titled Vernon’s Civil Statutes 5159a and then amended and re-codified in 1995 to Texas Government Code Chapter 2258 (Prevailing Wage Rates). Chapter 2258 was amended by HB 2625 in the 80th Legislative Session in 2007. The Legislature removed language that restricted political subdivisions in the state from adopting or using the Federal Davis/Bacon Wage Determinations, if the publication of that survey was over three (3) old. Effective September 1, 2007, all political subdivisions in the State of Texas may adopt the Federal Davis/Bacon Wage Determinations and subsequent modifications without having to spend taxpayer dollars to conduct new wage surveys. To date, Texas has a total of 255 counties and each political subdivision within these counties has a choice to adopt Davis-Bacon or Chapter 2258 regulations. Each subdivision that adopts Chapter 2258 is in charge of enforcing the regulation.
The cities that have adopted Davis/Bacon for their local political subdivisions are:
1) Austin
2) Baytown
3) Houston
4) Houston Airports
5) Lubbock
6) Pasadena
7) Texas City
8) Galveston County
9) Galveston County College of Mainland
10) Harris County
11) Harris County Hospital District
12) Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Harris County
13) Texas Facilities Commission
Partial list
THRESHOLD
The Texas prevailing wage statute does not require a minimum monetary threshold amount that must be met for prevailing wages to apply to public works construction projects.
TIMING OF WAGE DETERMINATIONS & INCREASES
Texas does not publish annual prevailing wage determinations. The prevailing wage is determined by using the rate determined by the U.S. DOL to be the prevailing wage under the Davis/Bacon Act. Technically, the wage rates can also be set by survey, but the State of Texas has not conducted a prevailing wage survey for many years.
OVERTIME
Texas does not have different daily overtime laws per trade. An employee that works any hours in excess of 40 per week must receive overtime compensation at a rate of time and a half of the base rate.(OT is on the base wage rate and not the fringe benefit amount). Be aware that local public agency may adopt daily overtime rules or other rules relating to the submission of forms, etc.
WORKING ON THE WEEKENDS
Texas prevailing wage law does not maintain different rates for working on the weekend. Any hours worked in excess of forty hours per week are compensated at time and one-half.
WORKING ON LEGAL HOLIDAYS
Texas Prevailing Wage Law does not compensate employees for working on legal holidays.
SHIFT DIFFERENTIALS
Prevailing wage determinations used in any federal, state, county, school district, university system, or other public entity does not establish different rates based on the shift worked. However, Collective Bargaining Agreements that work on public projects do have different prevailing wages based on shift worked. In other words, the Texas state law only sets standards to the minimum rate each craft can be paid. The company that is awarded the contract can pay more if the CBA wage and fringes are higher (including shift work premiums if included in the CBA also).
FRINGE BENEFITS
Under Texas prevailing wage law, “prevailing wage” means a base hourly wage rate plus fringe benefits. Examples of “fringe benefits” include the following: 1) life insurance; 2) health insurance; 3) pension; 4) vacation; 5) holidays; 6) sick leave.
*Please Note—the following are not fringe benefits: use of a truck; Thanksgiving turkey; Christmas bonus; periodic bonus; or any benefit required by federal/state law (e.g., workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, social security compensations).
TRAINING CONTRIBUTION
Texas prevailing wage law does not require that training contributions be paid on behalf of workers.
APPRENTICE REQUIREMENTS
According to Texas state law, to be an apprentice, the employee must be registered under a bona fide apprentice program. If an apprentices is used, wages are set by the applicable Apprenticeship Standards Agreement and are communicated to the contractor through the “dispatch slip”.
Apprentices must be supervised at all times. Also the ASA will establish a journeyman to apprentice ratio. If an apprentice works unsupervised or out of ratio, the apprentice must be paid the full journeyman wage and fringe amount.
TRAVEL & SUBSISTENCE
Travel time on a government-contract prevailing wage job must be paid at the prevailing wage rate associated with that particular job. Travel time on a job not covered by prevailing wage laws may be by agreement, (i.e., either at the regular hourly rate of pay, or at a different rate in which case the weighted-average method of computing overtime pay would be used for any overtime arising from such work).
CONTRACTOR LICENSING
The Texas Department of Licensing and Texas Board of Plumbing Examiners oversee that licensing requirements are met.
Only specialty contractors, including HVAC, fire sprinkler systems, plumbing, electricians, elevators and well drilling/pump installation specialists, need to be licensed in Texas. Home builders are not licensed, but are required to register with the state.
- To check if a specialty contractor is licensed for HVAC, well drilling and pumping, or industrialized housing in Texas, call (512) 463-6599 or (800) 803-9202.
- To check if a plumber is licensed call (512) 458-2145.
- To check if a contractor is licensed for fire sprinkler systems call (512) 305-7933.
REQUIRED AND OPTIONAL POSTERS
Prevailing wage rates are required to be posted at the jobsite.
Workplace compliance posters required to be displayed can vary from one employer to another. Posters can be printed free of charge directly from links on this page or by following links to the U.S. Department of Labor.
All Texas employers must display posters containing information on the Texas Payday Law, the Workers' Compensation Program, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Employers do not need to purchase required posters from private vendors. Government-issued compliance posters do not have to be laminated to satisfy an employer's regulatory obligation.
Employers needing additional information about which posters they need to display can call TWC's Labor Law unit at 800-832-9243 or 512-475-2670 or go to (all free of charge) http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/lablaw/posters.html.
PENALTIES
Failure to pay correct prevailing wages
A contractor or subcontractor who violates Chapter 2258 of the Texas Government Code must pay to the City, $60 per each worker employed for each calendar day or part of the day that the worker is paid less than the wage rates.
Failure to maintain correct payrolls
The contractor will be penalized $60.00 a day for each employee who is underpaid per Texas Government Code 2258-023 for all contracts except Federally Funded Contract if he or she fails to maintain correct certified payrolls.
Criminal Offenses
A contractor or subcontractor of a public work or an agent or representative of the contractor or subcontractor that violates Section 2258.058(b) commits a criminal offense. A criminal offense under this section is punishable by: 1) a fine that does not excess $500; or 2) confinement in jail for a term that does not exceed six months; or 3) both a fine and confinement. 2258.058(c).
DEBARMENT
Under Chapter 2258, no debarment provision is established. Moreover, there is no official website that lists debarred employees.
