NEVADA LABOR COMMISSIONER Michael Tanchek has released the 2007–2008 Construction Wage Survey to contractors throughout the state.

State law requires the commissioner to survey contractors who have performed construction work during the past year in order to determine the prevailing wage rates. Prevailing wage rates are required to be paid on all Nevada public works construction projects—such as schools, libraries, roadways and government buildings—costing more than $100,000.

The surveys are due July 16, 2007, in order for the new rates to be posted by October 1, 2007, as required by Nevada law.

The commissioner mailed survey packets to over 14,000 licensed contractors across the state. Contractors who have worked on construction projects but are not required to have contractors' licenses should contact the commissioner for the forms. In addition, the survey packet will be available on the Internet at www.laborcommissioner.com. Participants can go online to complete the form and print a hard copy for mailing; surveys cannot be filed electronically. Browsers will also find convenient links to Nevada's prevailing wage laws, as well as state-required posters and other useful information on that site.

Contractors who do not receive a packet or have access to the Internet can still request a hard copy by calling the Office of the Labor Commissioner in Las Vegas (702) 486-2795 or Carson City (775) 687-4850 or toll free at 1-800-992-0900.

According to Chief Assistant Carrie Foley, who oversees the data collection and calculation of the rates, the Labor Commissioner's Office strives to ensure that the public understands how the rates are established: "We often receive telephone calls and emails from people curious as to how we came up with a particular rate. The information obtained on the surveys is randomly audited then loaded into a computer program which calculates the prevailing wage rates on a county-by-county, job-classification basis."

Here's how it's done. The Office of the Labor Commissioner uses a formula outlined in regulation -- Nevada Administrative Code Chapter 338:

1. If the calculated rate was paid to the majority of workers in the class, that establishes the rate.
2. Where there is no majority, the rate is determined by the rate paid to at least 40 percent of workers in the class.
3. Where there is still no majority or 40 percent rate, a weighted average of all wages in proportion to the number of hours worked in a class is applied.
4. If no rates are received, the commissioner considers the results of surveys conducted by other agencies.
5. If the rate came from a collective bargaining agreement, the commissioner may elect to use the rates set forth in that agreement.

Tanchek encourages all contractors, particularly those working in rural areas, to accurately participate in the prevailing wage survey to ensure that the rates established accurately reflect the rates that are being paid in a particular community. If no rates are reported for a craft in a county, the commissioner must rely on wage rates as reported for the nearest county that has a rate. Many times a low-population county can end up with the same rate as established in Clark County for a particular craft, because no rural numbers were reported. Participation by all contractors is the key.

Contractors should keep several important facts in mind when completing the survey:

All data from all contractors will be considered. However, the information must be within survey requirements. For example, work must be done within the specified dates and must be for a classification included in the survey.

Surveys should include wages paid on private and commercial projects. To establish a rate reflective of what's been paid, the survey should include wages paid on all construction projects, not just publicly-funded projects.

Rural projects should be included. The size of a project is not important. Where the work was performed and what rate contractors paid a specific classification in a given locale are important.

For more information, please contact Foley at mail1@laborcommissioner.com or (702) 486-2795, Las Vegas.