Colorado’s prevailing wage law requires contractors on state public projects worth $500,000 or more to pay construction workers at least the going hourly rate for their trade and area, plus fringe benefits such as health insurance and retirement contributions. The rules sit in Part 2 of Article 92, Title 24 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. Willful underpayment carries fines that climb to $25,000 per violation and can end in a three-year ban from state work.
Which Projects Are Covered
The trigger is a single number: $500,000. Any contractor awarded a state public project at or above that contract amount must pay prevailing wages, and every subcontractor on the job carries the same obligation.1Justia. Colorado Code 24-92-202 – Contractors Subject to Provisions – Weekly Payment of Employees – Rules Both standard procurement contracts and integrated project delivery contracts count.
“Public project” is defined broadly. It covers construction, repair, demolition, or improvement of land, buildings, roads, bridges, or other public improvements built for public health, welfare, or safety, and it reaches ongoing operation and maintenance programs for those facilities. A privately built project also qualifies if one or more state agencies are renting, leasing, or purchasing at least 50 percent of it.2FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-92-201 – Definitions
The scope is state-level only. “Agency of government” under this law means state agencies, departments, divisions, boards, commissions, and state institutions. Counties, cities, municipalities, school districts, and special districts are explicitly excluded.2FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-92-201 – Definitions A city-funded building or a school district renovation does not trigger Part 2, even if the contract easily clears $500,000.
Two Big Exceptions: Federal Funding and CDOT
This is where the most common misreadings happen. Part 2 does not apply to projects that receive federal funding of any amount.1Justia. Colorado Code 24-92-202 – Contractors Subject to Provisions – Weekly Payment of Employees – Rules Federal dollars in the mix mean the state rules step aside and the federal Davis-Bacon Act, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, governs instead.
Colorado Department of Transportation projects are also carved out, regardless of dollar amount or funding source. CDOT contractors still owe prevailing wages, but under Davis-Bacon rather than Part 2.1Justia. Colorado Code 24-92-202 – Contractors Subject to Provisions – Weekly Payment of Employees – Rules Highway and road workers on CDOT jobs follow the federal schedule.
For state projects without federal funds, the Office of the State Architect administers the prevailing wage and apprenticeship program, a role it took on after Senate Bill 19-196.3Office of the State Architect. Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship
How the Rates Are Set
Colorado does not run its own wage surveys. The director of the Department of Personnel adopts the U.S. Department of Labor’s Davis-Bacon determinations to set prevailing rates for each trade and geographic area in the state.4FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-92-205 – Applicable Prevailing Wage for Public Projects The published schedule is updated on or before July 1 each year.
Before a contract goes out, the state agency must pull the prevailing rates for regular, holiday, and overtime hours, along with the prevailing payments for welfare, pension, vacation, and apprentice training funds in the project’s geographic area. Those figures must appear in the competitive solicitation and in the signed contract.5FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-92-203 – Prevailing Rate of Wages and Other Payments – Specifications in Solicitations and Contract
Once the contract is signed, the rates lock. A carpenter’s listed rate stays put for the life of the project even if federal Davis-Bacon numbers move.5FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-92-203 – Prevailing Rate of Wages and Other Payments – Specifications in Solicitations and Contract
Which Workers Are Covered
“Employees” under the statute means workers engaged by contractors or subcontractors to perform work on public projects, specifically including mechanics, laborers, and other construction workers.2FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-92-201 – Definitions If you are on site running equipment, installing materials, or doing manual trade work, you are covered. The definition points to C.R.S. § 8-4-101(5), so calling a worker an independent contractor does not sidestep the requirement if the underlying relationship is employment.
Office-based professional and administrative staff generally fall outside the rule. The line runs at the job site and the type of work performed there.
What Counts as Wages
“Wages” here is broader than the paycheck. The statute includes the value of health insurance, pension contributions, life insurance, disability coverage, vacation and holiday pay, and apprenticeship training fund contributions.2FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-92-201 – Definitions The prevailing wage is a total compensation figure.
Contractors can meet the fringe portion three ways: pay into a bona fide benefit plan (health, 401(k), pension), pay the fringe amount to workers as additional cash, or combine the two. When an existing plan covers part of the required fringe rate, the shortfall goes to the worker in cash. If the required fringe is $12 per hour and the contractor’s benefit plans cost $8 per hour, the remaining $4 becomes cash on top of the base rate.
Benefits already required by other laws do not count. Social Security contributions, workers’ compensation premiums, and Affordable Care Act compliance costs cannot be credited against the prevailing fringe rate.3Office of the State Architect. Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship Requirements on Larger Projects
Public projects valued at $1 million or more carry an additional apprenticeship utilization requirement under C.R.S. § 24-92-115. General contractors on those jobs must submit documentation certifying that the firms doing mechanical, electrical, or plumbing work participate in registered apprenticeship programs.3Office of the State Architect. Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Programs must be registered with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship or with Apprenticeship Colorado, and they must show real graduation numbers under thresholds that rise over time.6Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. INFO 13 – Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Program Requirements for Public Projects
The wage schedule includes a separate apprenticeship contribution rate. Contractors with a collective bargaining agreement pay whatever that agreement requires. Contractors without a CBA but who belong to a trade association sponsoring a registered program pay into that program. Everyone else pays the apprenticeship amount directly to workers as cash.7Justia. Colorado Code 24-92-208 – Apprenticeship Contribution Rate
Payroll, Site Logs, and Postings
The paperwork obligations live in C.R.S. § 24-92-204. Contractors and subcontractors must pay employees on the site at least once a week, without deduction or rebate, at or above the rates listed in the solicitation. They must submit certified payroll reports to the contracting agency monthly, disclosing all payroll information, including the names and addresses of any entities receiving fringe benefit payments.8Justia. Colorado Code 24-92-204 – Contract Stipulations
A daily log of every employee on the project must be kept on site and available for inspection at all times, showing each worker’s name, primary job title, and employer.3Office of the State Architect. Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship The current prevailing wage rates and information about workers’ rights must be posted where workers can see them.
If wages are not paid, the contracting agency can withhold contract payment until the contractor proves that workers have been made whole.8Justia. Colorado Code 24-92-204 – Contract Stipulations
Weekly Reporting Through LCPtracker
Colorado monitors labor compliance through an online system called LCPtracker. Every contractor and subcontractor on a covered project logs in weekly to enter and certify payroll data. Each contractor also submits a Contractor Fringe Benefit Statement for the project, and every employee needs a signed Employee Consent for Wage Deductions form uploaded into the system.3Office of the State Architect. Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Fringe benefits entered in LCPtracker must be shown as a dollar amount.
What Happens When a Contractor Underpays
Enforcement runs on an escalating track. Honest mistakes get a chance to be fixed; willful violations do not.
Complaint and 15-Day Cure Period
When the contracting agency receives a worker complaint or spots a problem in certified payroll, it notifies the contractor within 48 hours. If the contractor shows the underpayment was a legitimate administrative error, the agency gives 15 calendar days to correct it.9Justia. Colorado Code 24-92-209 – Enforcement – Rules A payroll typo or a misclassified hour can be cleaned up at this stage without further consequence. Miss the deadline, or show signs the violation was intentional, and the file goes to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
CDLE Investigation and Fines
CDLE investigates whether the violation was willful. “Willful” reaches beyond intentional conduct to include reckless disregard for the law and deliberate ignorance of the requirements.11Justia. Colorado Code 24-92-209 – Enforcement – Rules
A confirmed willful violation triggers back-wage restitution plus escalating fines:
On a large project with multiple affected workers and pay periods, those numbers stack fast.10Justia. Colorado Code 24-92-209 – Enforcement – Rules
Debarment and the Public List
Three or more willful violations within any five-year period can result in debarment at the director’s discretion. Debarment lasts three years and blocks the contractor from bidding on future state public projects.9Justia. Colorado Code 24-92-209 – Enforcement – Rules CDLE also keeps a public list of contractors found to have willfully violated the law, including the details of each violation.
Private Lawsuits After 120 Days
If the contracting agency or CDLE has not resolved an actionable claim within 120 days of the Department’s willful-violation determination, the worker can file a private lawsuit under C.R.S. § 24-92-210.9Justia. Colorado Code 24-92-209 – Enforcement – Rules A court that finds underpayment must award double the underpayment plus interest, with additional penalties available for misrepresentations about wage obligations.6Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. INFO 13 – Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Program Requirements for Public Projects The administrative appeal process does not have to be exhausted first once the 120-day window closes.