Survey to determine prevailing wages in Nevada

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- A survey of licensed contractors is being conducted by the Nevada labor commissioner to determine prevailing wage rates to be paid on public works projects.

The rates are required to be paid on all Nevada construction projects financed by taxpayer dollars, including schools, libraries, roads and government buildings.

Last year, $1.2 billion was spent on public works projects in Nevada.

Prevailing wage rates vary with the classification of the worker and the county in which the public work is being performed, said Amanda Getzoff, spokeswoman for the Office of the Labor Commissioner.

For example, a journeyman carpenter at the top level would be paid differently in Clark County than Mineral County, she said.

Contractors are not required by law to participate in the wage survey.

"We go with whatever the majority rule is," Getzoff said, though the labor commissioner has established a system to verify the rates, including random audits of contractors' books.

Labor Commissioner Terry Johnson has been working to dispel misunderstandings about the wage survey. Much of the confusion lies in how the rates are determined and what information is important, he said.

"Virtually from the first day I took office, people would ask, 'Where do you come up with these rates?' Somehow people assume that the numbers are pulled out of thin air," he said.

"In reality, I rely on contractors to accurately report what they paid their workers. This information, in turn, is used to publish prevailing wage rates."

Participation is the key, and Johnson said he's seen a steady increase in the number of contractors who submit completed surveys since he began using the Internet to release the survey three years ago.

Of the 12,280 surveys sent out last year, he received responses from 1,686 contractors.

The survey, required by state law, will be posted Thursday on the Labor Commissioner's Web site.

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On the Internet:

www.laborcommissioner.com.