Montana’s prevailing wage law establishes minimum wages for construction workers employed on
public works projects. The law creates a level playing field for all contractors by ensuring that public expenditures maintain local market standards for wages and benefits that attract the skilled workforce needed for quality craftsmanship. It also requires that at least 50 percent of the workers employed by contractors on public works projects be residents of Montana.

Read the report here: The Impact of Montana’s Prevailing Wage Law: Effects on Costs, Training, and Economic Development

Montana’s prevailing wage law keeps construction costs stable and supports local contractors.

  • 90 percent of peer-reviewed studies find that prevailing wage laws have no effect on the cost
    of constructing traditional public works projects like schools, highways, and public buildings.
  • Labor costs account for just 24 percent of total construction costs in Montana.
  • Peer-reviewed studies conclude that prevailing wage laws have no effect on bid competition.
  • Data from the Economic Census of Construction reveals that states with prevailing wage laws
    have 2 percent more of the total value of construction work completed by in-state contractors.

Montana’s prevailing wage law promotes labor market competitiveness and boosts the economy.

  • Economic research finds that prevailing wage laws deliver middle-class careers that attract
    workers into the construction trades and ensure they can afford to live in the communities
    where they are building roads, bridges, schools, parks, and other public infrastructure.
  • Montana’s prevailing wage law increases construction worker incomes by 8 percent and
    expands employer-provided health insurance coverage for construction workers by 8 percent.
  • Prevailing wage has no effect on hours worked or employment levels of construction workers.
  • Prevailing wage has no effect on the racial composition of the construction workforce.
  • By protecting work for in-state contractors, upholding local construction standards, and hiring
    local, Montana’s prevailing wage law creates 1,800 jobs, improves the state economy by $248
    million, and generates $19 million in state and local tax revenues every year.
  • Weakening prevailing wage in Montana by repealing the law or raising the contract coverage
    threshold would hurt local contractors, shrink construction worker incomes, and lead to an
    increase in worker misclassification and payroll fraud—without saving taxpayers any money.

Prevailing wage levels the playing field, promotes job quality, boosts investment in apprenticeship training programs, improves worksite safety, and stabilizes construction costs. Prevailing wage delivers great value for taxpayers.