Construction Issue: Prevailing Wage

Prevailing Wages are defined as the hourly wages, benefits and overtime to be paid to workers, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor and Ohio Department of Labor for construction trades. The State of Ohio’s Prevailing Wage Law has been in effect since 1931 and prevents building contractors from undercutting workers’ wages and benefits and in turn, benefits the local economy.

Prevailing Wage laws require construction contractors working on publicly funded projects to pay their workers the prevailing wages and benefits in the location the project is located in.  Extensive research has consistently shown that Prevailing Wage laws benefit all building-trades industry workers, construction project owners and the public in general.

Studies consistently show that these laws do not result in higher than normal project cost, and in fact, result in savings due to better investment in the workforce which leads to higher-quality construction.  Prevailing Wage laws keep overrun costs low and quality high by utilizing a workforce that is paid properly to do the job right the first time.