WHAT'S NEW?
Trucking and Prevailing Wage can be Complicated
CCMI gets asked about trucking and prevailing wage nearly every week. Now the rules are different in different states, but listed below are some pretty basic rules.
For everyone: If trucks are staying on site and performing work related to the jobsite then those drivers are typically covered by the Teamster classification on the project. This typically includes water trucks, asphalt trucks, etc.
Supplier Deliveries are generally not covered by prevailing wages. This means a company which is not installing or performing any work on site. They are just delivering their materials to a single location while on the jobsite and then leaving is typically not covered by prevailing wages. Special rules for other states.
Federal Rules: If trucks are making multiple trips back and forth to the project, prevailing wage will not apply if the time spent on the jobsite is de minimis. De Minimis for the purposes of trucker is 20%. So, in a 40 hour week, if the truck is actually onsite for 8 hours, then it is deemed not to be de minimis and all onsite time is covered by prevailing wages (usually the Teamster rate based on the type of truck driven). That equates to a little more than 2.5 hours (160 minutes) per day.
Special rules by state: There are special rules in about 10 states relating to trucking.
California: If an independent trucking company is delivering the materials, then one needs to look to see who ordered the independent driver to pick up materials and deliver them. If a contractor ordered the delivery, then On-Haul/Off-Haul prevailing wage rates apply. The delivery of paving materials (sand gravel, asphalt, etc.) is also covered by the On-Haul/off-Haul rate and is not excluded as a supplier delivery. Concrete deliveries have its own prevailing wage rate.
Pennsylvania: On October 28, 2011, the Commonwealth Court decided the case of Bockelman Trucking v. Prevailing Wage Appeals Board, 30 A.3d 616 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2011) and concluded that truck drivers who hauled materials to and from a public work project were entitled to prevailing wages under the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act (the “Act”). Prevailing wage applies even though the trucks were delivering their materials to an adjacent project site to be used on the particular public work. The term construction includes construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration and/or repair work other than maintenance work.
There are other states as well. If you work in one of the 28 states which have State prevailing wages, you will want to check what type of trucking is covered by prevailing wages and when.
