The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division encourages employers, stakeholders, and others in Southeast Texas’ building and heavy construction industries to help establish accurate prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits for workers on federally funded and assisted projects.
Required by federal law, the division is distributing an online survey that asks for information on wages paid for relevant construction projects from May 5, 2024, to Aug. 5, 2025. The areas covered include Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Milam, Montgomery, Newton, Orange, Polk, Robertson, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Waller, Washington, and Wharton counties.
The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts require the department to set prevailing wage rates that reflect the actual wages and fringe benefits paid to construction workers where the work occurs. Survey responses help the division publish accurate prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates in these areas. The more complete the survey, the more accurate the determinations, which in turn saves contractors time by reducing their requests for additional labor classifications. The department encourages all industry employers and stakeholders, not limited to those working on federally funded or assisted construction projects, to participate with the most complete data possible.