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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky HB 345 establishes prevailing wage requirements and standard work hours for public works construction projects
Last action · January 21, 2026: to Economic Development & Workforce Investment (H)Sponsors: Adrielle Camuel and 3 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky HB 345 requires public authorities contracting for projects estimated to cost over $250,000 to ascertain and pay s to construction employees. The bill establishes standard work limits of eight hours per day and forty hours per week, mandates overtime pay at one and a half times the basic hourly rate, and sets up a Prevailing Wage Review Board to handle wage determinations and appeals.
Contractors and subcontractors bidding on public construction projects must calculate wages based on local rates and fringe benefits, maintain detailed payroll records for inspection, and face debarment or civil penalties for wage violations. Public authorities must incorporate wage schedules into contract specifications and withhold payments for noncompliance.
- Prevailing wage laws mandate that contractors working on publicly funded construction projects pay local wage rates and fringe benefits determined by labor market data. context
- The Kentucky General Assembly previously repealed state prevailing wage laws in 2017, making legislative proposals to reinstate or modify prevailing wage frameworks a subject of ongoing debate. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
construction workers on public works
Construction employees on public works projects must be paid not less than the established prevailing wage and overtime rates and may file complaints or civil actions for wage violations.
public authorities
Public authorities awarding public construction contracts must ascertain prevailing wage rates, include wage schedules and work-hour limitations in specifications and contracts, and withhold payments for violations.
contractors and subcontractors
Contractors and subcontractors bidding on public works must pay prevailing wages, maintain detailed payroll records for inspection, and comply with worker hour and overtime rules.
Key Facts
- Applies to construction, reconstruction, improvement, enlargement, alteration, or repair of public works projects fair estimated to cost more than $250,000.
- Prevailing wage is defined as the sum of the basic hourly rate paid to the majority of workers in a classification (or the average rate) plus hourly contributions for bona fide fringe benefits.
- Public authorities must notify the Department of Workplace Standards in writing and ascertain prevailing wage rates before advertising for bids or entering contracts.
- Commissioner of the Department of Workplace Standards determines initial and revised prevailing wage schedules considering previous public works, comparable private construction, and collective bargaining agreements.
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- Standard work hours are limited to eight hours in a calendar day and forty hours in one week, except in emergencies caused by fire, flood, or damage to life or property.
- Employees working in excess of eight hours per day or forty hours per week must be paid at least one and one-half times the basic hourly rate.
- A Prevailing Wage Review Board is created consisting of one member representing employers, one representing labor, and one appointed by the public authority.
- Contractors and subcontractors must keep full and accurate payroll records and retain them for one year following project completion.
- Contractors found in violation of wage or hour provisions face civil penalties ranging from $100 to $1,000 per offense, full restitution to employees, and potential debarment from public works bidding for two years for flagrant or repeated violations.
- Public officials or members of public authorities who willfully fail to comply with prevailing wage requirements may be assessed civil penalties and held liable in a civil action for resulting damages or loss.
Frequently Asked Questions
What public works projects are covered under this prevailing wage bill?
What are the standard working hours and overtime rules?
How are prevailing wages determined?
What penalties do contractors face for violating prevailing wage provisions?
What else do you want to know?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Jan 21, 2026HouseCommitteeto Economic Development & Workforce Investment (H)
- Jan 13, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Establishment of Prevailing Wage Framework
The bill systematically institutes comprehensive prevailing wage requirements, enforcement mechanisms, review boards, and civil penalties under KRS Chapter 337 for public works projects.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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