Project Penalties Tab – Web
Table of Contents
- Navigating to the Project Penalties Tab
- Types of Penalties and Fine Structures
- Project Penalties Dashboard
- Apprentice Labor Hours Requirement Dashboard
- Apprentice Ratio Requirement Dashboard
- Changing the Time Period of Penalties
Navigating to the Project Penalties Tab
To navigate to the Penalties Tab of a Project, start by opening the Project Card and then clicking "Penalties" from the navigation bar at the top of the screen. See video below for a demonstration:
The Penalties Tab provides an overview of all fines that have accrued from PWA compliance issues on the Project.
Types of Penalties and Fine Structures
Compliance penalties fall into two categories:
(1) Failure to Pay Prevailing Wages
(2) Insufficient Apprenticeship Hours
There are two types of penalty structures:
(1) Base Case
(2) Intentional Disregard: If the IRS assesses that no efforts to comply with PWA requirements was made (I.e. the compliance requirements were "intentionally disregarded").
The Base Case Penalty Structure is as follows:
- Insufficient Apprentice Hours Fine
- A fine of $50 per hour is applied for each hour the project falls short of its apprentice labor requirement.
- For jobs starting on or after January 1, 2024, at least 15% of total labor hours must be performed by registered apprentices.
- For jobs starting before January 1, 2024, the requirement is 12.5% of total labor hours.
- A fine of $50 per hour is applied for each hour the project falls short of its apprentice labor requirement.
- Failure to Pay Prevailing Wage Fine
- A $5,000 fine per worker applies if a worker was not paid the required prevailing wage.
- Back-Pay for Underpaid Workers Fine
- Each underpaid worker must be paid the full difference between what they were paid and the applicable prevailing wage, plus 6% interest.
- Back-pay formula:
(Prevailing Wage Obligation – Payroll Actuals) × 1.06- This ensures workers receive the compensation they were entitled to, with interest.
The Intentional Disregard Penalty Structure is as follows:
- Insufficient Apprentice Hours Fine
- A fine of $500 per hour is applied for each hour the project falls short of its apprentice labor requirement.
- For jobs starting on or after January 1, 2024, at least 15% of total labor hours must be performed by registered apprentices.
- For jobs starting before January 1, 2024, the requirement is 12.5% of total labor hours.
- A fine of $500 per hour is applied for each hour the project falls short of its apprentice labor requirement.
- Failure to Pay Prevailing Wage Fine
- A $10,000 fine per worker applies if a worker was not paid the required prevailing wage.
- Back-Pay for Underpaid Workers Fine
- Each underpaid worker must be paid the full difference between what they were paid and the applicable prevailing wage, plus 6% interest – then multiplied by 3.
- Back-pay formula:
(Prevailing Wage Obligation – Payroll Actuals) × 1.06 x 3
Project Penalties Dashboard
The Project Penalties Dashboard at the top of the page provides information on the total dollar value of fines accrued on the project.
Penalties that arise from failure to pay prevailing wages are categorized under the "Backpay Owed" tab in the Project Penalties Dashboard (highlighted in the red box in the image above).
Penalties that arise from insufficient apprenticeship hours are categorized under the "Cure Payments Owed" tab in the Project Penalties Dashboard (highlighted in the blue box in the image above).
The "Total Outstanding Penalties" tab is the sum of total penalties from the "Backpay Owed" and "Cure Payments Owed" categories.
Apprentice Labor Hours Requirement Dashboard
The Apprentice Labor Hours Requirement Dashboard displays the number of days in which the number of apprentice hours was not met as well as the total number of hours below the required ratio.
The Daily Apprentice Labor Hours Breakdown section provides a day-by-day breakdown of the number of shortfall hours and the associated fine. Similarly, there is a graphical representation of the associated fines.
See the image below for an example:
Click the "View full daily breakdown" Button to expand the table to full screen.
Apprentice Ratio Requirement Dashboard
The Apprentice Ratio Requirement Dashboard displays the number of days which the required apprentice to journeyworker ratio was not met.
The Apprentice Ratio Requirement section provides a day-by-day breakdown of the number of non-compliant days and the associated fines. Similarly there is a graphical representation of the associated fines.
Changing the Time Period of Penalties
To change the time period, click the dropdown at the top right of the screen. Time period options include the last 4 weeks, 12 weeks, 24 weeks, and the entire Project duration.
Please see the video below for a demonstration:
The Dashboard will automatically update to to reflect the new time period.