Prevailing Wage Notice

There are several important changes to the Prevailing Wage Act in Public Act 100-1177 that became effective June 1, 2019.

As of June 1, units of local government are no longer required to approve an annual prevailing wage ordinance that simply adopts the prevailing wage rate that has been ascertained by the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL). Instead, the prevailing wage schedule published on IDOL's website will automatically set the applicable wage rates for each locality.

With the elimination of the requirement to approve an annual prevailing wage ordinance, the requirements to file the ordinance with the IDOL and to publish an annual notice of the approval of the ordinance in the newspaper or on the public body's website have also been eliminated.

Despite the elimination of these obligations, many of the other prevailing wage requirements continue to apply. For instance, public bodies must continue to notify contractors of their obligation to pay prevailing wages in public bid documents, contracts, projects specifications or, if none, in a purchase order or other written notice.

Public Act 100-1177 also requires IDOL to develop and maintain an electronic database capable of accepting certified payrolls directly from contractors no later than April 1, 2020. While this change will eventually relieve a public body of its current record-keeping requirements for these certified payrolls, until the electronic database is fully developed and maintained by IDOL, a public body's existing record-keeping requirements for certified payrolls will continue to apply.

For additional information and the current wage rates, visit the Illinois Department of Labor website.