Prevailing Wage Kentucky: Repeal, Davis-Bacon & Rates

Last Updated: August 2026

Kentucky does not have a state prevailing wage law. The Commonwealth repealed it in 2017, and nothing has replaced it since.

Prevailing wage obligations here have not disappeared. They now come from a single source: federal law. If there is federal money in your project, the Davis-Bacon Act applies, weekly certified payroll is required, and enforcement runs through the U.S. Department of Labor rather than any Kentucky agency.

Federal dollars reach a large share of Kentucky construction. The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project alone carries roughly $1.6 billion in Federal Highway Administration grants. Add military work at Fort Knox and the Blue Grass Army Depot, federally assisted airport projects, HUD housing, EPA water and sewer work, and the federal share of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet contracts, and Davis-Bacon is routine here.

This guide covers what the repeal changed, why Kentucky cities cannot fill the gap locally, when Davis-Bacon applies, where to find the rates that do exist, and how certified payroll works.

Not working in Kentucky? Check out our state-by-state guide to prevailing wage.

Does Kentucky Have a Prevailing Wage Law?

No. Kentucky has had no state prevailing wage law since January 2017.

Prevailing wage is the minimum hourly rate plus fringe benefit value owed to workers on covered public construction, set by locality and trade classification. State laws are passed by state legislatures and run by state agencies. The federal Davis-Bacon Act is separate. It applies nationwide and is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor.

One exception comes up often enough to check for. A public owner can write wage requirements into a contract voluntarily, and a project can fall under a project labor agreement. No state law does not mean no contractual obligation, so ensure you’re double checking specifications.

What Is Pending in Frankfort?

In the 2026 Regular Session, Rep. Adrielle Camuel filed House Bill 345 to create a new prevailing wage law for all public works projects. It went to the House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee on January 21 and never advanced before the session adjourned on April 15. A separate bill from Rep. Adam Moore, House Bill 344, would have let cities adopt their own prevailing wage ordinances. Similar bills have been filed before, including House Bill 508 in 2024, and none have left committee.

Nothing has changed for now. Plan against the current law and check back when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.

The 2017 Repeal: What Changed

Kentucky's prevailing wage law dates to 1940 and applies to public works projects over $250,000, with rates set by the Labor Cabinet.

House Bill 3 ended it. The bill passed in the first week of the 2017 session and took effect January 9, 2017, when Gov. Matt Bevin signed it. An emergency clause made the repeal immediate rather than waiting until July. It removed the wage requirement, abolished the Prevailing Wage Review Board, and stripped the Labor Cabinet of its rate-setting authority (the affected sections sat in KRS Chapter 337). The change applied prospectively, so contracts already awarded still carried their obligations, which is why some older Kentucky contracts still contain wage language.

Project type	Funding	Prevailing Wage?	Rate Source	Certified Payroll?	Enforced By
State building project	State only	No	None	No	N/A
City, county, or school district	Local only	No	None	No	N/A
KYTC highway work	Federal-aid	Yes	SAM.gov	Weekly WH-347	DOL WHD
HUD or EPA revolving fund	Federally assisted	Yes	SAM.gov	Weekly WH-347	DOL WHD
Mixed funding	State and federal	Yes, on covered work	SAM.gov	Weekly WH-347	DOL WHD
Private development	Private	No	None	No	N/A

When Davis-Bacon Applies to a Kentucky Project

The Davis-Bacon Act covers federally funded or assisted contracts for construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings and public works at $2,000 or more. That is a contract threshold, not a per-worker figure, and it captures nearly any federally connected job.

Federal money can arrive through grants, loans, loan guarantees, or insurance, and it can pass through a state or local agency first. The federal agency does not have to be the party you signed with.

In Kentucky, that covers a lot of ground:

Highway and bridge: Federal-aid projects let through the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, including Brent Spence. A KYTC contract is not automatically prevailing-wage-free just because the state repealed its law.
Military: Fort Knox, the Blue Grass Army Depot, and Fort Campbell, which straddles the Kentucky and Tennessee line and can pull two different county wage determinations on one installation.
Aviation: Federally assisted work at Louisville Muhammad Ali International, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, and regional fields.
Housing: HUD-funded housing and Community Development Block Grant projects.
Water and environmental: EPA state revolving fund work, and Department of Energy remediation at Paducah.
Education: School and university projects carrying federal grant dollars.

Davis-Bacon Act and Its Related Act

Kentucky Prevailing Wage Rates: Where to Find Them Now

Kentucky publishes no state prevailing wage rate schedules. The Labor Cabinet stopped issuing determinations after the 2017 repeal, and no state agency will produce one today. If your project has no federal funding, there is no rate to look up. If it does, your rate comes from a federal wage determination.

Finding the Right Davis-Bacon Wage Determination

Federal wage determinations are published on SAM.gov. Select Kentucky, then the county where the work will be performed, then the construction type: building, residential, highway, or heavy.

Both selections matter. Jefferson County and Pulaski County can carry very different rates for the same classification, and applying a building determination to highway work is a violation from the first payroll. The determination is normally written into the solicitation and contract documents, so the contract copy governs, and rates are generally fixed at award for the life of the project unless the contract is modified.

How to Read a Wage Determination

Simplify Davis-Bacon Compliance on Kentucky Projects

Kentucky removes the state layer, but not the work. You still need the right county determination for every project, correct classifications for every worker, and a certified payroll report every week. Our Managed Service team sources rates, generates reports, and manages submissions. Learn more by reaching out to our experts.

The WH-347 and Weekly Submission

With no state form, Kentucky contractors work with a single federal reporting standard. That is simpler than Ohio, Illinois, or California, where a state report and a federal report can both come due on one project.

Under the Copeland Act, certified payroll is due weekly for every week covered work is performed, regardless of how often you pay your workers. If you run biweekly payroll, you still file weekly. Form WH-347 is accepted for all federal projects in Kentucky. Page one records hours by classification, rates, gross wages, deductions, and net pay. Page two is the Statement of Compliance, a signed certification that the payroll is accurate and complete and that every worker was paid at least the required rate, including fringes.

Subcontractors submit to the prime, and the prime submits to the contracting agency. Some agencies and grantees require an electronic portal rather than email or paper, so confirm the method at kickoff. Primes remain responsible for subcontractor compliance and underpayments at every tier, which is the most expensive misunderstanding on federally funded work.

Posting, Recordkeeping, and Retention

Post the applicable wage determination and the Davis-Bacon poster (WH-1321) in a visible spot at the job site.

Retain payroll records for at least three years from completion of the prime contract: certified payrolls, daily time records showing hours by classification, payroll registers, fringe documentation, and apprenticeship registrations. Investigators can request these without notice, and gaps in daily time records turn a routine review into a finding.

Why Kentucky Cities and Counties Cannot Set Their Own Rates

Kentucky contractors have one less pre-bid step than contractors in most states. There is no municipal prevailing wage ordinance to check here, and there cannot be one.

The same 2017 legislation that repealed the state law also added a provision, now at KRS 65.016, prohibiting local governments from requiring an employer to pay a specified wage or fringe benefit. Louisville, Lexington, Covington, every county, and every school district are covered by it.

That settles a question contractors ask often. Working in Louisville does not change your obligation, because there is no state or local obligation to change. What your county does change is your federal wage determination, which is issued county by county. Geography still matters here, just at the federal level rather than the local one.

Penalties and Enforcement in Kentucky

No Kentucky state agency enforces prevailing wage. Enforcement runs entirely through the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, with the contracting agency handling withholding. There is no state office to call for an interpretation.

The violations that generate findings here are the familiar federal ones: misclassifying a worker into a lower-rate trade, treating covered workers as independent contractors, fringe shortfalls, late or missing certified payrolls, unregistered apprentices, and inaccurate time records.

Consequences include:

Back Wages

Full payment of underpaid wages to affected workers, plus interest.

Contract with Withholding

The agency can withhold payment to cover underpayments.

Liquidated Damages

Assessed under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act for overtime violations.

Contract Termination

The government can terminate for cause.

Debarment

Up to three years of exclusion from federal contracting.

Worker Protections and Anti-Retaliation

The law includes strong protections for workers who report prevailing wage violations. Contractors cannot discharge, discipline, retaliate against, or discriminate against workers who report violations or express intent to do so.

Workers also have a private right of action under the Act. They can bring a lawsuit in court for damages, injunctive relief, and reinstatement, and may recover actual costs and attorney fees. Importantly, workers are not required to exhaust administrative remedies before filing a civil action, they can go directly to court.

Find the Right Level of Support

Kentucky's compliance picture is narrower than most states, but unforgiving where it applies. Every covered project is federal, every determination county-specific, every report weekly, and there is no state agency to fall back on. To keep rate management in-house, WageIQ helps keep your determinations and calculations easily manageable before payroll runs. To offload reporting, our Managed Service team handles report generation and submissions.

Prevailing Wage Kentucky: What Applies After the 2017 Repeal

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