4115.05 Prevailing rate of wage in locality to control contract wage. - Ohio Statutes

4115.05 Prevailing rate of wage in locality to control contract wage.

The prevailing rate of wages to be paid for a legal day’s work, as prescribed in section 4115.04 of the Revised Code, to laborers, workers, or mechanics upon public works shall not be less at any time during the life of a contract for the public work than the prevailing rate of wages then payable in the same trade or occupation in the locality where such public work is being performed, under collective bargaining agreements or understandings, between employers and bona fide organizations of labor in force at the date the contract for the public work, relating to the trade or occupation, was made, and collective bargaining agreements or understandings successor thereto.

Serving laborers, helpers, assistants and apprentices shall not be classified as common labor and shall be paid not less at any time during the life of a contract for the public work than the prevailing rate of wages then payable for such labor in the locality where the public work is being performed, under or as a result of collective bargaining agreements or understandings between employers and bona fide organizations of labor in force at the date the contract for the public work, requiring the employment of serving laborers, helpers, assistants, or apprentices, was made, and collective bargaining agreements or understandings successor thereto.

Apprentices will be permitted to work only under a bona fide apprenticeship program if such program exists and is registered with the Ohio apprenticeship council.

The allowable ratio of apprentices to skilled workers permitted to work shall not be greater than the ratio allowed the contractor or subcontractor in the collective bargaining agreement or understanding referred to in this section under which the work is being performed.

In the event there is no such collective bargaining agreement or understanding in the immediate locality, then the prevailing rates of wages in the nearest locality in which such collective bargaining agreements or understandings are in effect shall be the prevailing rate of wages, in such locality, for the various occupations covered by sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code.

The prevailing rate of wages to be paid for a legal day’s work, to laborers, workers, or mechanics, upon any material to be used in or in connection with a public work, shall be not less than the prevailing rate of wages payable for a day’s work in the same trade or occupation in the locality within the state where such public work is being performed and where the material in its final or completed form is to be situated, erected, or used.

Every contract for a public work shall contain a provision that each laborer, worker, or mechanic, employed by such contractor, subcontractor, or other person about or upon such public work, shall be paid the prevailing rate of wages provided in this section.

No contractor or subcontractor under a contract for a public work shall sublet any of the work covered by such contract unless specifically authorized to do so by the contract.

Where contracts are not awarded or construction undertaken within ninety days from the date of the establishment of the prevailing rate of wages, there shall be a redetermination of the prevailing rate of wages before the contract is awarded. Upon receipt from the director of commerce of a notice of a change in prevailing wage rates, a public authority shall, within seven working days after receipt thereof, notify all affected contractors and subcontractors with whom the public authority has contracts for a public improvement of the changes and require the contractors to make the necessary adjustments in the prevailing wage rates.

If the director determines that a contractor or subcontractor has violated sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code because the public authority has not notified the contractor or subcontractor as required by this section, the public authority is liable for any back wages, fines, damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees associated with the enforcement of said sections by the director for the period of time running until the public authority gives the required notice to the contractor or subcontractor.

On the occasion of the first pay date under a contract, the contractor or subcontractor shall furnish each employee not covered by a collective bargaining agreement or understanding between employers and bona fide organizations of labor with individual written notification of the job classification to which the employee is assigned, the prevailing wage determined to be applicable to that classification, separated into the hourly rate of pay and the fringe payments, and the identity of the prevailing wage coordinator appointed by the public authority. The contractor or subcontractor shall furnish the same notification to each affected employee every time the job classification of the employee is changed.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000