Vermont Prevailing Wage: How the Capital Construction Act Sets What You Pay
Last Updated: September 2026
Vermont sets prevailing wage rates differently from most states. Rather than adopting negotiated union scales or federal determinations, the Vermont Department of Labor publishes a mean hourly wage drawn from an annual wage survey. Then requires an additional fringe benefit component calculated as a flat percentage of that wage. The full schedule is replaced every July 1.
That structure changes what compliance looks like on a Vermont public construction project. The published rate is not the full obligation, the schedule used on a prior job may no longer apply, and whether the state requirement attaches at all depends on the funding source rather than the type of work.
This article explores which projects are covered, how rates are determined, how the fringe component is calculated, what applies to registered apprentices, what certified payroll requires, and what follows a violation.
Not working in Vermont? Our state-by-state guide to prevailing wage and certified payroll reporting covers the requirements wherever you operate.
Table of Contents
- Vermont Prevailing Wage Law: The Basics
- Vermont Prevailing Wage vs. Federal Davis-Bacon
- How Vermont Prevailing Wage Rates Are Determined
- The 42.5% Fringe Benefit Requirement
- Registered Apprentice Rates in Vermont
- Certified Payroll and Recordkeeping in Vermont
- What Vermont Does Not Require
- Violations, Penalties, and Debarment
- Staying Compliant on Vermont Public Work
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Basics of Vermont Prevailing Wage Law?
Vermont's prevailing wage requirement is set out in 29 V.S.A. § 161(b) and tied to the state's annual Capital Construction Act. Contractors and state agencies commonly refer to the requirement as the CCA.
Vermont prevailing wage is the mean, or average, hourly wage published by the Vermont Department of Labor for a given occupation and geographic area, plus a fringe benefit component equal to 42.5 percent of that wage.
Three offices share responsibility for the program:
- VDOL Economic & Labor Market Information Division publishes the rate schedule and answers questions about rates, occupations, and wage areas.
- Department of Buildings and General Services, Office of Purchasing and Contracting determines whether a specific state-issued project is covered.
- VDOL Wage & Hour Division receives complaints about unpaid or incorrectly paid prevailing wages.
Vermont is sometimes grouped with the Little Davis-Bacon states, though the comparison is loose. Vermont does not survey contractors for wages actually paid on public work, does not issue project-specific determinations, and does not publish rates county by county.
Which Projects Are Covered
Coverage depends on funding rather than project type. Three triggers appear in the statute:
- A State project with a construction cost exceeding $100,000
- A construction project exceeding $200,000 that is authorized and at least 50 percent funded by a capital construction act under 32 V.S.A. § 701a
- A construction project exceeding $200,000 that is at least 50 percent funded by the Cash Fund for Capital and Essential Investments under 32 V.S.A. § 1001b
Two exclusions apply. Subsections (a) through (c) of Section 161 do not reach maintenance or construction projects carried out by the Agency of Transportation or the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, which places VTrans highway work outside the state requirement even above the dollar thresholds. Federally assisted highway projects remain subject to Davis-Bacon. Separately, the prevailing wage requirement covers only the construction-related occupations listed in the current rate schedule. If a classification does not appear there, VDOL asks contractors to call before assuming a rate applies.
Section 161(a) requires competitive bid advertising once a State project exceeds $50,000. That threshold governs procurement, not wages. Prevailing wage obligations begin at the thresholds above.
Vermont Prevailing Wage vs. Federal Davis-Bacon
Vermont contractors frequently work under both systems, sometimes on the same project.
- Federal Davis-Bacon applies to federally funded or federally assisted construction contracts of $2,000 or more.
- The Capital Construction Act applies at the state thresholds above.
Where both apply, Davis-Bacon takes precedence, and the higher rate governs each classification. Federal assistance is not always evident from the contract title. Grant-funded work, certain energy and broadband projects, and federal-aid highway contracts all carry Davis-Bacon obligations, so confirm the complete funding picture with the contracting agency before pricing the work.
The two systems also use different paperwork, covered in the certified payroll section below. For a fuller treatment of the federal side, see our guide to the Davis-Bacon Act and its related acts.
How Are Vermont Prevailing Wage Rates Determined?
Rates come from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, the same Bureau of Labor Statistics series used for general wage estimates. VDOL publishes the mean wage for each covered occupation. Vermont does not use the most commonly paid rate, and it does not adopt collectively bargained scales.
The governing document is the Vermont State Construction Prevailing Wage Rate Schedule, effective July 1 through June 30 of the following year.
The Three Prevailing Wage Areas
Vermont divides the state into three areas, with each of the 14 counties assigned to one:
|
Prevailing Wage Area |
Counties |
|---|---|
|
Burlington-South Burlington Metropolitan Area |
Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle |
|
Northern Vermont Nonmetropolitan Area |
Addison, Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Washington |
|
Southern Vermont Nonmetropolitan Area |
Bennington, Rutland, Windham, Windsor |
The applicable area is determined at the time of bid. A crew that works across county lines during the project does not switch rate columns partway through.
Reading the Rate Table
Rates are listed by Standard Occupational Classification code and title, with one column per area. Two footnote markers appear throughout the schedule:
- 1 indicates the state average was used because area-level data was unavailable.
- 2 indicates the national average was used because neither area nor state data was available.
Classifications with limited Vermont employment, such as boilermakers, glaziers, and elevator installers, therefore carry identical rates across all three columns. Occupational definitions come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics documentation, which is the reference point when a worker's duties span two classifications.
Why the Rates Change Every July 1
Because Vermont's rates follow a wage survey rather than a negotiated agreement, individual classifications move independently from one schedule to the next, and they move in both directions. A trade can see a double-digit percentage increase in one edition while another trade in the same area declines.
A rate schedule saved from an earlier project is therefore not a reliable basis for a new bid. Pull the current schedule each time, and for work that spans a fiscal year boundary, plan for the July 1 replacement in advance.
The 42.5% Fringe Benefit Requirement
The rate tables published by VDOL are wage rates only and exclude fringe benefits. The full obligation on a covered project is the published wage plus an additional 42.5 percent of that wage. VDOL's instruction is to multiply the wage rate by .425 to determine the fringe value required in addition to the wage.
Using a published electrician rate of $34.82 per hour in the Burlington-South Burlington area:
- Base wage: $34.82
- Fringe component: $34.82 × .425 = $14.80
- Total hourly obligation: $49.62
The statute defines what qualifies:
Fringe benefits” means benefits, including paid vacations and holidays, sick leave, employer contributions and reimbursements to health insurance and retirement benefits, and similar benefits that are incidents of employment.
The requirement may be satisfied through bona fide benefits, through cash paid on top of the base wage, or through a combination of the two. Total compensation must meet or exceed base plus fringe for every hour worked on the project. Our prevailing wage fringe FAQs cover how this works in practice across jurisdictions.
Vermont Rate Tables That Stay Current
Vermont's schedule replaces itself annually, applies a separate fringe calculation to every classification, and splits rates across three areas. WageIQ stores the applicable Vermont rates and surfaces prevailing wage calculations, including the fringe component, before payroll runs, which keeps rate and form management workable for your team.
Want a partner on the rate side? Our Managed Services team partners with you to manage your prevailing wage process, building and maintaining rate tables tailored to your business and proactively monitoring for rate changes.
Schedule a demo to see how each option fits your Vermont projects.
Registered Apprentice Rates in Vermont
Since July 1, 2018, registered apprentices on state construction projects may be paid a percentage of the prevailing wage for the occupation they are apprenticing in, based on hours completed.
|
Progression Level |
Hours |
Percentage of Rate |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
0 to 999 |
60% |
|
2 |
1,000 to 1,999 |
65% |
|
3 |
2,000 to 2,999 |
70% |
|
4 |
3,000 to 3,999 |
75% |
|
5 |
4,000 to 4,999 |
80% |
|
6 |
5,000 to 5,999 |
85% |
|
7 |
6,000 to 6,999 |
90% |
|
8 |
7,000 to 10,000 |
95% |
The apprentice must be registered with VDOL's Apprenticeship Training Division, or with the apprentice registering entity in the state where the company is domiciled. And the percentage applies to the progression level of the classification being apprenticed, not to a general labor rate.
Unregistered apprentices are paid the full rate for the occupation they are apprenticing in. Vermont does not treat an apprentice as a helper for prevailing wage purposes. Helper classifications appear on the rate schedule as separate occupations with their own rates.
Vermont sets apprentice pay by progression hours rather than by apprentice-to-journeyman ratios, so ratio assumptions carried in from other states do not translate here. Our breakdown of apprenticeship ratios and prevailing wage requirements covers how the ratio-based states handle it.
Certified Payroll and Recordkeeping in Vermont
Vermont does not publish a state certified payroll form, and the Capital Construction Act does not set a state submission schedule. Reporting obligations on a Vermont project come from two other sources.
Federal Davis Bacon
On federally funded or assisted work, contractors and subcontractors file weekly certified payroll using Form WH-347 with the contracting agency, accompanied by a signed statement of compliance.
Contract Terms
State-issued solicitations incorporate their own reporting, recordkeeping, and wage provisions. Requirements vary by agency and by project, so confirm what your specific contract requires with the BGS Office of Purchasing and Contracting before work begins rather than assuming a standard cadence.
Records & Posting
Maintain payroll records showing each worker's classification, hours, rate of pay, and fringe benefit documentation. Davis-Bacon requires retention for three years after project completion.
Display the applicable wage rates at the job site where workers can see them.
Subcontractors
Flow prevailing wage requirements into every subcontract and collect subcontractor payroll on the same schedule you follow. Under the 2023 Davis-Bacon final rule, prime contractors carry liability for unpaid wages owed by their subcontractors on federally funded work.
What Does Vermont Not Require?
Several requirements common in other prevailing wage states have no counterpart under the Capital Construction Act:
- No weekend premium. The CCA does not mandate a different rate for Saturday or Sunday work.
- No holiday premium. Pay for work on legal holidays is left to the employer's own policy.
- No shift differential. The schedule sets one rate per classification per area.
- No training contribution.
- No travel or subsistence requirement.
Overtime is governed by Vermont state law rather than by trade classification. Employees receive one and one-half times their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. States that publish per-occupation overtime schedules within the wage order itself operate differently, and those rules do not carry over to a Vermont project.
Violations, Penalties, and Debarment
Enforcement runs through Vermont's wage payment statutes and through the state's contractor debarment provisions.
An employer who violates Vermont's wage payment sections may be fined up to $5,000 under 21 V.S.A. § 345(a). Where the employer is a corporation, officers who control payment operations are treated as employers and are personally liable for actual wages due if they willfully and without good cause participated in knowing violations.
Under 21 V.S.A. § 345(b), an employer required to provide benefits is liable for actual damages caused by the failure to pay them. Where that failure is knowing and willful and continues 30 days past the due date, the Commissioner may assess a civil penalty of up to $5,000 and may pursue collection in the Civil Division of the Superior Court.
21 V.S.A. § 347 provides that an employer who violates the wage payment statutes forfeits to the affected individual twice the value of the unpaid wages, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
Under 29 V.S.A. § 161(e) and (f), the Agency of Administration must ensure the State and its subdivisions do not contract, directly or indirectly, with employers prohibited from contracting by the Commissioner of Labor under 21 V.S.A. §§ 692, 708, and 1314a, or by the Commissioner of Financial Regulation under 8 V.S.A. § 3661. A current list of prohibited employers is published on the BGS debarment page.
Where federal funds are involved, Davis-Bacon remedies apply in addition to state exposure, including back wages, withholding and cross-withholding of contract payments, and debarment from federal contracts for up to three years.
Workers file with the VDOL Wage & Hour Division at (802) 951-4083. VDOL's wage claim form notes that a claim cannot be filed more than two years after the wages were due.
- Confirm the funding source and which coverage trigger applies before you bid, and ask BGS in writing when it is unclear.
- Check whether the project falls under the Agency of Transportation or Forests, Parks, and Recreation, and whether federal assistance brings Davis-Bacon into play.
- Identify the prevailing wage area at bid time, since that determination is fixed at that point.
- Pull the current rate schedule for every project rather than reusing a copy from a prior job.
- Price the 42.5 percent fringe component into the bid alongside the base wage.
- Register apprentices before work begins if you intend to pay progression-level rates.
- Flow prevailing wage requirements into every subcontract and collect subcontractor payroll on your own cadence.
- Calendar the July 1 schedule replacement for any work spanning a fiscal year boundary.
- Maintain three-year records from the first payroll, not from the closeout.
Vermont Prevailing Wage Compliance Without the Spreadsheets
Vermont combines survey-driven rates, an annual replacement cycle, a fixed fringe multiplier applied to every classification, and an eight-level apprentice schedule. Managing that by hand across multiple projects leaves room for error at exactly the points an audit examines.
With WageIQ, the rates and forms become manageable by your team, with prevailing wage calculations surfaced before payroll runs. With Managed Services, our team partners with you to manage your prevailing wage process, from maintaining your rate tables through generating certified payroll reports and managing submissions.
Vermont Prevailing Wage FAQ
Yes. Vermont's prevailing wage requirement is set out in 29 V.S.A. § 161(b) and tied to the state's Capital Construction Act. It applies to covered state-funded construction projects and requires the mean prevailing wage published by the Vermont Department of Labor plus a 42.5 percent fringe benefit component.
Prevailing wage applies to a State project with a construction cost exceeding $100,000, or to a project exceeding $200,000 that is at least 50 percent funded by a capital construction act or by the Cash Fund for Capital and Essential Investments.
Vermont's published rate tables list wage rates only. Contractors owe an additional fringe benefit component equal to 42.5 percent of the wage rate, calculated by multiplying the rate by .425. The requirement can be met with bona fide benefits, cash, or a combination.
Identify the county where the work is located and map it to one of the three prevailing wage areas, then locate your occupation in the current Vermont State Construction Prevailing Wage Rate Schedule and read the rate from the column for that area. Add 42.5 percent for the fringe component.
Vermont has no state certified payroll form and no state submission schedule under the Capital Construction Act. Certified payroll obligations come from federal Davis-Bacon, which requires weekly Form WH-347 filings on federally funded work, and from the terms of the individual state contract.
No. 29 V.S.A. § 161(d) exempts projects carried out by the Agency of Transportation and the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation from the state requirement. Federally assisted highway work is still subject to Davis-Bacon.
Registered apprentices may be paid between 60 and 95 percent of the prevailing wage for the occupation they are apprenticing in, based on hours completed. Apprentices must be registered with VDOL or the registering entity in the state where the company is domiciled. Unregistered apprentices receive the full occupational rate.
The Capital Construction Act does not require weekend, holiday, or shift premiums. Overtime follows Vermont state law at one and one-half times the regular rate for hours beyond 40 in a workweek, rather than being set per trade classification.
Penalties include fines of up to $5,000 under 21 V.S.A. § 345, a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for knowing and willful failure to pay benefits continuing 30 days past due, forfeiture of twice the unpaid wages plus costs and attorney's fees under 21 V.S.A. § 347, and debarment from state contracting. Davis-Bacon penalties apply in addition on federally funded work.