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What Prevailing Wage requirements apply to a Sole Proprietor performing as a a Subcontractor?

OhioPrevailing Wages

Is a Sole Proprietor, acting as a sub-contractor for a General Contractor, who has no employees, exempt from prevailing wage requirements, including paying,reporting prevailing wage?

1 reply

Oct 11, 2019
Under the Ohio prevailing wage law, all contractors and subs are legally required to submit certified payroll reports for public works projects that meet the contract thresholds. For new construction, the threshold is $250,000 or more; all other public works projects must be at least $75,000 for the prevailing wage requirements to apply. Failure to comply with these regulations can lead to not only administrative fines but potential criminal penalties as well. The statues themselves are relatively unclear on pay and reporting requirements for sole proprietorships. However, the Ohio Department of Commerce provides Instructions for Preparing Certified Payroll Reports for prevailing wage jobs within the state. These instructions do provide some guidance without having to contact the department directly. Included in these instructions is this, "Individual sole proprietors do not have to pay themselves prevailing rate but must report their hours on the project." Therefore, timely submission of certified payroll reports is still required of sole proprietors, but the wage rates do not apply to them. That way the contracting agency can still track the type of work and hours expended on the project.
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