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
• Apprentice Participation Requirement Dashboard
• Federal Backpay Penalties Dashboard
• Changing the Time Period of Penalties

Navigating to the Project Penalties Tab

To navigate to the "Penalties" tab of a project, start by clicking on the "Jobs" tab in the primary navigation bar at the top of the page. Then, click the "Projects" tab in the sub navigation bar near the top of the page. This will open the "Projects" page. Click on the relevant project to open its project card. Once in the project card click the "Penalties" tab from the sub navigation bar at the top of the page.

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.
• 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.
• 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 relating to apprenticeship requirements on the project.

All penalties resulting from the failure to meet apprenticeship requirements are summarized in the "Total Penalties" box.

Penalties that arise from failure to maintain the required ratio of journeyworkers to apprentices, thus resulting in the requirement to pay apprentices the wage of a journeyworker, are indicated within the "Ratio Backpay Owed" box.

Penalties that arise from failing to deploy apprentices when required are indicated within the "Participation" box.

Penalties that arise from failing to maintain the apprentice labor hour requirement are indicated within the "Labor Hours" box.

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. A graphical representation of the penalties that have been accrued is also included.

Apprentice Ratio Requirement Dashboard

The "Apprentice Ratio Requirement" dashboard displays the total penalties associated with failure to meet the apprentice ratio requirement, as well as the number of days which the required apprentice to journeyworker ratio was not met. A graphical representation of the penalties that have been accrued is also included.

The "Daily Apprentice Ratio Breakdown" section provides a day-by-day breakdown of the number of non-compliant days and the associated fines.

Apprentice Participation Requirement Dashboard

The "Apprentice Particiapation Requirement" dashboard displays the total penalties associated with failure to meet the apprentice participation requirement, as well as the number of days which the apprentice participation requirement was not met. A graphical representation of the penalties that have been accrued is also included.

Federal Backpay Penalties Dashboard

The "Federal Backpay Penalties" dashboard displays the number of workers that have been paid under the prevailing wage, the number of workers with a waiver, and the total penalties owed in fines to the IRS for prevailing wage underpayment.

The displayed information is for the current year. To change the year, click on "Work Year" field in the top right corner of the dashboard (indicated by the red box in the image below) and select the desired year from the dropdown menu.

Changing the Time Period of Penalties

To change the time period, click the time period near the top right corner of the page (indicated by the red box in the image below) and select the desired time period from the dropdown menu. Time period options include the last 4 weeks, 12 weeks, 24 weeks, 1 year, and the entire project duration.

The dashboard will automatically update to to reflect the new time period.