What is prevailing wage, and does it apply to my county janitorial bid?

Prevailing wage requirements apply to your county janitorial bid because the county is likely following state or federal guidelines for service contracts. While the Davis-Bacon Act covers construction, the Service Contract Act (SCA) applies to service contracts performed in the United States when the contract amount is above a certain threshold. The county's procurement office decided to include those wage requirements in their RFQ.

You need to match your team's job duties to the job titles on the attached rate sheet, not just the titles you use internally. Review the descriptions for "Custodial Worker I" and "Cleaner, Light Duty" to see which duties align with your cleaners' tasks. If a supervisor also performs cleaning duties, you might need to allocate their time between a supervisor rate and a cleaner rate, or use the higher rate for their hours on the contract. The rates listed on the sheet are the minimum wages and fringe benefits you must pay for those specific job classifications. Your proposal's price volume must reflect these minimums for all labor hours performed on the contract to be compliant.

Nadia, the Service Contract Act (SCA) applies to service contracts over $2,500 that are performed in the United States, as Helen and Luis noted. You need to account for the prevailing wage rates when you calculate the direct labor cost for your proposal. The county procurement office will check your proposed pricing against the wage determination to ensure compliance. If you are awarded the contract, you will need to track and report employee hours and wages by job classification to demonstrate compliance, which often involves certified payroll submissions.