A
t a time when the construction economy remains
difficult, contractors in Maryland are confronting
new rules governing their workforces. The new rules
create new burdens on competition, particularly on govern-
ment-funded construction projects. Contractors who want
to do business in Maryland must stay in compliance with
the new rules, which seem to be here to stay.
The New Maryland Apprenticeship Fund
The state has enacted a law requiring all contractors and
subcontractors performing state prevailing wage contracts
above $100,000 to contribute 25 cents per hour for every
covered worker into a new state apprenticeship fund or
into an approved apprenticeship training program. There
has been much confusion about this new law, which
is now being enforced on any state prevailing wage
project that was advertised for bids after July 1, 2013.
Here are the important points to remember:
• The law applies only to state prevailing wage projects
advertised for bids after July 1, 2013. The law does not
apply to private work or to federal Davis-Bacon work.
• On covered projects, contractors and subcontractors
must pay 25 cents per hour for each tradesman,
including journeymen, laborers, and apprentices, i.e.,
any worker who is listed on the certified payrolls.
• 25 cents per hour worked by each employee on the
project must be paid, regardless of whether the workers
are enrolled in any apprenticeship training programs.
• The mandatory 25 cents per hour can be deducted from
the fringe benefit component of the state prevailing wage
determination, so that it need not cost the contractor any
additional money on the project. But if there is no fringe
benefit listed in the state prevailing wage determination,
then the contractor must pay an extra 25 cents per hour
to the required apprenticeship fund.
• Perhaps most importantly, the mandatory 25 cents
per hour can be paid to any approved apprenticeship
program, including those sponsored by Associated
Builders and Contractors, regardless of whether the
contractor is training any apprentices in that particular
trade (for example, plumbing contractors can pay into an
ABC carpentry apprenticeship program and vice versa).
State Prevailing Wage
Now Requires Electronic Payroll Submission
The
new
apprenticeship
fund
requires
covered
contractors to register on the state prevailing wage site:
/ Registration on this site is
also required for contractors to submit their certified payrolls
on state prevailing wage jobs. Since January 2013, the state
has required all prevailing wage contractors to file their
New Labor Law Challenges
For Maryland Contractors
by Maurice Baskin, Esq., Littler Mendelson, PC
1
Building Washington 27
