What is Rate Work? - (4/19/2012)

If you have not been paid the rate (or if you just have questions about how it works), we can help. Local 12’s wage enforcement collects certified payrolls on every state and local job in our jurisdiction. So call and ask to speak with Paul Coutinho at 617-288-6200 x139, and he can help you. You can also call the Attorney General’s office at 617-727-2200

The Public Authority responsible for the job must post a sheet that states the wage rate for your trade at the project site. Most often, it is posted in the GC’s trailer.

It can be at the shop, but it must be posted somewhere. If you don’t see it, or if you have any questions on whether the posted rate is correct, please call our wage enforcement office at 617-288-6200, X139.

A hot topic on any non-union jobsite is who is doing the “rate work,” and is the company going to get any more “rate work?” But, what is “rate work?”

As some of you may already know, “rate work” is the wage rate that must be paid to workers on all public work in the state. It is also called the prevailing wage. On state and local projects it is the total union wage and benefit package (which is currently $68.25 an hour for plumbers), and on federal projects it is an average of the union and non-union rates in the area. Your boss must, with a few exceptions, pay you the entire amount in the envelope, and he must submit certified payrolls under the pains and penalties of perjury that you have been paid the rate.

Show All News Headlines