Labor Commissioner seeking construction wage information

Alana Roberts

Friday, April 29, 2005 | 9:34 a.m.

Nevada's Labor Commissioner is soliciting 14,500 contractors that perform construction work in Nevada to respond to his annual prevailing wage survey to determine the prevailing wage of construction workers in each of the state's counties.

The survey asks contractors that perform work on both private and public construction projects how much they pay workers in each job type in order to determine a fair prevailing wage. The prevailing wage survey is necessary in order to determine how much contractors should pay their workers when working on public works projects for state and local public agencies, Michael Tanchek, Nevada Labor Commissioner, said. Contractors are only required to pay the prevailing wage when they're working public works projects.

Tanchek said the prevailing wage determination ensures all companies that bid on public works projects have similar labor costs. He also said the survey is important in ensuring workers on public works projects are paid fairly and it discourages contractors from underbidding other contractors by hiring workers from outside of that county for less than the prevailing wage of that county.

"You want a level playing field for wages," Tanchek said. "From my standpoint if we're spending tax money, we think our folks should benefit from those tax dollars," he said. He added that because the prevailing wage encourages companies to hire from within the county the work is performed in it keeps the wages earned in that county.

The survey is mailed out to the contractors and is now available on the Labor Commissioner's Web site at www.laborcommissioner.com. The surveys must be mailed back to either the Las Vegas or Carson City offices of the Labor Commissioner by July 15. The results of this year's survey will be calculated and will be published by Oct. 1 on the Web site.

The prevailing wage is determined by a calculation of the rate paid to the majority of workers in a job type in a county or, if there is no majority, the amount paid to at least 40 percent of the workers in a job type.

The survey excludes work done on single family houses and residential projects less than five stories tall.

Steve Holloway, executive vice president of the Associated General Contractors Las Vegas Chapter, agreed the prevailing wage survey is a good thing for the construction industry because it allows both union and nonunion contractors to contribute their wage information, which helps make the results of the survey more fair.

"It does level the playing field for nonunion contractors," Holloway said. "It also forces the bidders to focus on other things other than using cheaper labor to get the job done."