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OF O <br />/Q;.. :cF: <br />BRAD AVAKIAN z DOUG MCKEAN <br />COMMISSIONER Deputy Commissioner <br />1859 <br />BUREAU OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIES <br />January 1, 2010 <br />In January and July of each year, the Bureau of. Labor and Industries publishes the prevailing wage rates that <br />are required to be paid to workers on non-residential public works projects in the state of Oregon. Quarterly <br />updates are published in April and October. <br />A separate publication, entitled "Definitions of Covered Occupations for Public Works Contracts in <br />Oregon," provides occupational definitions used to classify the duties performed on public works projects. <br />Another publication, entitled "PREVAILNG WAGE RATESfor Public Works Contracts in Oregon subject to <br />BOTH the state PWR and federal Davis-Bacon Act, " provides the applicable rates to be paid to workers on <br />projects subject to both the state Prevailing Wage Rate law and federal Davis-Bacon Act. These publications <br />are available upon request and are also available electronically at www.oregon.gov/boli. <br />Unless specifically exempted by state law, prevailing wage rates are the minimum wages that must be paid to <br />all workers employed on all public works. These rates are determined using data collected from a statewide <br />construction industry wage survey of occupations and crafts performing commercial building and heavy and <br />highway construction in 14 geographic regions of the state. <br />Although this construction industry survey is normally conducted on an annual basis, due to the number of <br />concerns I have heard expressed about the efficacy and methodology of the survey, I postponed this year's <br />survey and asked the legislatively-established Prevailing Wage Advisory Committee to review the survey <br />process and make recommendations to me for .improvements and increased data validity. It is my goal that <br />the most accurate data possible be collected by this survey and with the least amount of disruption to <br />contractors' businesses. <br />Pending the results of this survey review, I have decided to continue publishing rates based on last year's <br />survey data, updating only the rates in the appendix where. changes have been made. Once the committee <br />finalizes its recommendations and I have had an opportunity to evaluate them, I expect to conduct. a new <br />survey sometime after the beginning of the year. <br />You can find additional information and updates relating to the survey review process on BOLI's website at <br />www.oregon.gov/BOLI/WHD/PWR/. <br />ORS 279C.830 requires that the applicable wage rates be incorporated into all bid specifications for public <br />works contracts subject to the PWR law. A statement incorporating the applicable prevailing wage rate <br />publication and any amendments thereto or Davis-Bacon wage rate determination into the specifications by <br />reference will satisfy these requirements. Such reference must include the title of the applicable wage rates <br />publication or determination and the date of the publication or determination as well as the date of any <br />applicable amendments. A provision that prevailing wage rates must be paid must also appear in the contract. <br />Generally, the rates in effect at the time the bid specifications are first advertised are those that apply for the <br />duration of the project. There are some exceptions to this rule: If during the bidding process, the prevailing <br />wage rates change, the public agency has the option of amending the bid specifications to reflect such <br />800 NE Oregon St., Suite 1045 Portland OR 97232-2180 Telephone (971) 673-0761 TDD (971) 673-0766 <br />