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Labor Wage & Retention Programs
Labor Wage and Retention Programs monitor prevailing wage and living wage requirements on Metro contracts, which may be subject to state and federal prevailing wage requirements and Metro’s Living Wage/Service Contract Worker Retention Policy.
Questions and comments may be directed to DEODLaborCompliance@metro.net.
Prevailing Wage
Prevailing wage is applicable to all public works contracts in California.
| Funding Source | Total Contract Threshold |
|---|---|
| State and local funding | $1,000 and above |
| Federal funding | $2,000 and above |
If a contract has both state/local and federal funding, both state and federal prevailing is applicable and the more stringent of rules will apply. The higher wage should be used to pay employees.
Prevailing wage requires the submittal of Certified Payroll and other supporting documents via Metro’s online monitoring system. All contracts and subcontractors must submit the required items, and the prime contractor is responsible for the compliance of their subcontractors.
Owner-operators, Ready-mix and On-Off Haulers are all subject to be required to submit documents as well. A list of required documents can be found in the Documents section.
Prevailing wage is applicable on all public works contracts that are performing prevailing wage covered work, including professional service and operational contracts. Examples of professional service work covered by prevailing wage include: surveying, field/soils and material testing, building and construction inspection, potholing.
DIR Contractor Registration Database
All contractors in California must be registered with the State of California, Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) Contractor Registration Database. Contractors must be registered at the time of bid, at the time of award and throughout the life of a Metro contract. Please note that the DIR assesses penalties for late registration and for bidding or being awarded a contract while unregistered.
Registration is $400 per fiscal year and must be renewed every July 1. Metro recommends registering/renewing registration on a multi-year basis if bidding or awarding on contracts lasting more than one year.
To register, go to the DIR Contractor Registration Database website.
To check your registration or a subcontractor’s registration, click here.
Find out more at the DIR Contractor Registration Frequently Asked Questions page.
Apprenticeship Requirements
There is an obligation to hire apprentices on all contracts with a total value of $30,000 or more, regardless of subcontract size. The minimum ratio of apprentices to journeypersons is 20 percent of total contract hours.
To fulfill apprentice obligations, all contractors must submit a Public Works Contract Award Information (DAS-140) to each applicable joint apprentice committee for all apprenticeable trades before the start of work on a contract.
Non-union contractors must submit a Request for Dispatch of Apprentice (DAS-142) must be sent to each applicable joint apprentice committees for all apprenticeable trades at least 72 hours before an apprentice should begin work.
Union contractors should request apprentices from their union at least 72 hours before an apprentice should begin work. If the union does not provide apprentices, the union contractor must submit Request for Dispatch of Apprentice (DAS-142) must be sent to each applicable joint apprentice committees for all apprenticeable trades at least 72 hours before an apprentice should begin work.
If a contractor has apprentices on staff, these apprentices may be used to fulfill the minimum apprenticeship ratio. If a contractor cannot meet the 20 percent requirement with their own staffed apprentices, the Request for Dispatch of apprentice (DAS-142) must be sent to each applicable joint apprentice committees for all apprenticeable trades at least 72 hours before an apprentice should begin work.
If contractors have submitted DAS-142s to all joint apprentice committees and no apprentices were provided, the contractor has fulfilled the obligation to hire apprentices, even if no apprentices were provided by the union or joint apprentice committees.
All apprentices must be registered with the State of California, and on federal contracts, apprentices must also be registered in a bona fide apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. Copies of the State and Federal apprenticeship certificates will be collected via Metro’s online monitoring system.
Find out more about apprenticeship requirements:
Skilled and Trained Workforce Requirements
As of July 1, 2019, the State of California has implemented Skilled and Trained Workforce Requirements (STW) for certain contracts. All workers on STW applicable contracts must be either a skilled journeyperson or a DAS-Registered apprentice. 30% – 60% of all journeypersons on STW applicable contracts must be graduates of an apprenticeship program. The percentage is based on craft.
STW is applicable to the following Metro contracts:
- All Metro Design/Build contracts over $1,000,00, excluding contracts on the state highway system
- All Metro contracts for the acquisition and installation to technology applications or surveillance equipment designed to enhance safety, disaster preparedness and homeland security efforts
- STW requirements do not apply on contracts subject to PLA requirements
All contractors on STW contracts must submit monthly reports of STW fulfillment to Metro for all apprenticeable trades with more than 10 hours of work.
Contractors and subcontractors must submit a notarized affidavit to Metro, stating STW requirements were fulfilled.
Prevailing Wage Documents
- 2013 Prevailing Wage Manual (must be available for contracts that were bid/awarded prior to 2019)
- Request for Dispatch of an Apprentice (DAS 142)
- STW Doc 1
- STW Doc 2
- STW Doc 3
Living Wage and Service Contract Worker Retention Policy
Metro’s Living Wage/Service Contract Worker Retention Policy (LW/SCRWP) is applicable to certain Metro contract. For (LW/SCRWP) applicability, the service contract must:
- Be valued at $25,000 or more
- Last at least 1 year
- Have employees who work 50% or more of their total work hours on the Metro contract
The LW/SCWRP is applicable to the following types of service contracts:
- Asphalt and concrete repair
- Facility and building maintenance
- Food services
- Janitorial and custodial
- Landscaping
- Laundry services
- Moving services
- Office and clerical (copier maintenance, facsimile maintenance, courier mailing, photographic, printing, collections)
- Parking lot management
- Pest control
- Security
- Street sweeping
- Towing
- Trash collection
- Tree trimming
- Weed abatement and debris removal
- Any other service or labor determined by the Metro Board of Directors or Executive Management to meet the intent of this policy
Please note if both prevailing wage and living wage are applicable, contractors must pay the higher rate, and fulfill both prevailing and living wage requirements.
The LW/SCWRP also includes paid time off for employees. Full time employees must have at least twelve PTO days, and part time employees must have at least six PTO days. PTO includes any sick time and paid holidays.
The Service Contract Worker Retention portion of the LW/SCWRP enables Metro to provide eligible employees on terminating LW/SCWRP contracts to be retained for at least 90 days by the incoming contractors on successor contracts.
Current Living Wage
Below is the current, FY25 Living Wage Rate. Living Wage Rates are updated every July 1. The Living Wage Rate is subject to a maximum increase of 3 percent yearly. Bidders are recommended to factor this 3 percent increase in their bids.
Rates are based on the date contracts were advertised. If you are working on a Metro Living Wage contract and would like to know which wage is applicable to your contract, please contact LWRP at DEODLaborCompliance@metro.net.
| FY2025 Living Wage Rates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| FY25 Total Wage | FY25 Base Hourly Wage (BHR) | Health Benefits * | |
| Contracts Bid/Awarded before June 30, 2019 | $22.42 | $16.47 | $5.95 |
| Contracts bid between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020 | $23.59 | $17.64 | $5.95 |
| Contracts bid between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 | $24.54 | $18.59 | $5.95 |
| Contracts bid between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 | $24.54 | $18.59 | $5.95 |
| Contracts bid between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 | $25.02 | $19.07 | $5.95 |
| Contracts bid between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024 | $25.23 | $19.28 | $5.95 |
| Contracts bid between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025 | $25.23 | $19.28 | $5.95 |
* Up to $5.95 may be used to pay for health benefits. If health benefits are not provided, or cost less than $5.95 per hour, the remaining amount must be paid directly to the employee.
Overtime and double-time are calculated against the total rate being paid directly to the employee.
Living Wage Documents
Contact Us
For information or general questions:
Email: DEODlaborcompliance@metro.net
