Common Construction Wage Home

REPEAL: Effective July 1, 2015

The Indiana General Assembly repealed the Indiana Common Construction Wage Act (Indiana's Prevailing Wage Law) effective July 1, 2015. A copy of the Enrolled Act may be found here.

Contractors working on Common Construction Wage projects awarded prior to July 1, 2015 must continue to comply with the Common Construction Wage Act as it existed prior to the repeal, and workers must be paid at or above the established wage and fringe benefit rates for the duration of the project. Click here for a list of adopted Common Construction Wage (Prevailing Wage) Scales.

Unless federal or state law provides otherwise, a public agency may not establish, mandate or otherwise require a wage scale or wage schedule for a public works contract awarded by the public agency after July 1, 2015.

Work performed on federally-funded projects covered by Davis-Bacon and Related Acts is not affected by the repeal. For information about Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, click here.

Certifications and Enforcement

With the repeal of the Common Construction Wage Act (Indiana's Prevailing Wage Law), the Indiana General Assembly added new requirements for public works construction contractors.

These requirements include:

  • Tier 1 (General or Prime) Contractors must contribute at least 15% of the contract price in work, materials, services or any combination thereof
  • Contractors cannot pay employees in cash
  • Contractors must E-Verify each employee on a project
  • Contractors must certify that they are in compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Indiana Minimum Wage Law
  • Contractors may be required to have a drug testing program in accordance with IC 4-13-18
  • Contractors must maintain required levels of general liability insurance

The Indiana Department of Labor has no lawful authority to investigate or enforce the contributions of a Tier 1 contractor or payment of employees in cash. Suspected violations of these requirements should be directed to the government agency that awarded the contract for the project.

The Indiana Department of Labor has no lawful authority to investigate claims of a contractor failing to E-Verify employees. Suspected violations of this requirement should be directed to the government agency that awarded the contract for the project. For more information about how to E-Verify employees, click here.

The Indiana Department of Labor does not certify that contractors are in compliance with federal or state wage and hour laws. Contractors seeking this certification may want to consult their legal advisors about satisfying the certification requirement.

The Indiana Department of Labor will continue to accept wage complaints for failure to pay the Common Construction Wage (Indiana's Prevailing Wage) on any contracts awarded before July 1, 2015. The Common Construction Wage Complaint Form may be found here.

A public agency that is the owner of a public works project and suspects misclassification of one or more workers working on the public works project may request, in writing, an investigation by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.