Prevailing wage on federal construction in PR 2026

If the job has federal money, there is a mandatory wage table

Puerto Rico builds a great deal with federal money, roads, schools, housing, water systems, reconstruction. When the money is federal, a law kicks in that almost nobody on the job site knows by name: the **Davis-Bacon Act** and its **Related Acts** (DBRA).

What it requires is simple to state: on construction financed or assisted with federal funds, the contractor must pay laborers and mechanics working **on the site of the work** at least the **locally prevailing wage**, including fringe benefits, per the **wage determination** applicable to that contract.

Davis-Bacon applies to each federal government contract **in excess of $2,000** for construction, alteration or repair (including painting and decorating) of public buildings or public works. And the Related Acts extend those same standards to most federally assisted construction: the U.S. Department of Labor gives as examples the Federal-Aid Highway Acts, the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

The Davis-Bacon "prevailing wage" is the sum of two things: the **basic hourly rate** and any **fringe benefits** listed in the determination. The contractor can comply by paying it all as cash wages, or by combining cash with bona fide employer-provided benefits. And it must be paid for **all hours worked on the site of the work**.

Puerto Rico's table: what it actually says

Here is what makes this guide unique. The determinations are not a secret: the federal government publishes them on SAM.gov, each with its number, revision and date. Puerto Rico has its own, by municipality and construction type.

We went and got them. The general **building** determination for Puerto Rico is **PR20260001**, modification 1, published **May 18, 2026**, covering **all 78 municipalities of the island in a single document**. It applies to building construction projects other than single family homes and apartments up to and including four stories.

These are its rates, exactly as they appear in the official document, basic rate plus fringe benefits:

There is no transcription error. **Every building trade in Puerto Rico sits at $7.25 an hour**, which is the federal minimum wage.

The document explains why, if you know how to read the identifier. All those rates hang from identifier **SUPR1993-001, dated 10/29/1993**. The document itself decodes it: "SU" means a survey rate (not a collectively bargained one), "PR" is the state, the year that follows is **the year of the survey on which those classifications and rates are based**, and the date is **the survey completion date**. So the building prevailing wages governing Puerto Rico in 2026 come from a survey completed on **October 29, 1993**.

And the document says what follows from that: "SU wage rates typically remain in effect until a new survey is conducted." In residential construction the story repeats: determination **PR20260003** also pays **$7.25** across every trade.

• **Bricklayer:** $7.25 + $0.42 in fringes.
• **Carpenter:** $7.25 + $0.34.
• **Cement mason / concrete finisher:** $7.25 + $0.31.
• **Electrician (including HVAC control wiring):** $7.25 + $0.00.
• **Plumber (including HVAC work):** $7.25 + $0.31.
• **Sheet metal worker (including HVAC duct work):** $7.25 + $0.31.
• **Ironworker:** $7.25 + $0.00.
• **Painter:** $7.25 + $0.00.
• **Pipefitter:** $7.25 + $0.00.
• **Power equipment operators (cranes, diggers, traxcavator):** $7.25 + $0.00; loaders, $7.25 + $0.26.
• **Truck driver:** $7.25 + $0.30.
• **Laborer, unskilled:** $7.25 + $0.00.

That rate is LESS than Puerto Rico's minimum wage

Compare: the Davis-Bacon building prevailing wage in Puerto Rico is **$7.25**, and Puerto Rico's minimum wage has been **$10.50** since July 1, 2024, under Act 47-2021.

This is what has to be understood, and it is the reason for this guide: **a Davis-Bacon determination is a floor, not a ceiling, and it is not the only floor that exists**. The U.S. Department of Labor says so in its own fact sheet: contractors on projects subject to DBRA labor standards **may also be subject to additional prevailing wage and overtime pay requirements under State (and local) laws**.

Puerto Rico law answers the rest. Act 47-2021, in Section 2.01 (29 L.P.R.A. § 262), states literally that **"the state minimum wage in Puerto Rico shall prevail while it is greater than the federal minimum wage."** And Section 2.02 (29 L.P.R.A. § 262a) sets $10.50 from July 1, 2024 for all workers covered by the FLSA, with listed exclusions: the agricultural industry, employees of Puerto Rico government agencies and instrumentalities, municipalities and the Judicial and Legislative branches, and the so-called administrators, executives and professionals of Regulation Number 13. **Private construction is not on that list.**

Practical conclusion, and say it that way on the job: if you work for a private contractor on federally funded building construction in Puerto Rico, the Davis-Bacon determination will say $7.25, but **Puerto Rico's $10.50 minimum still applies to you**. Nobody can pay you $7.25 on the theory that "the federal table says so."

And the other way around: when the determination pays **more** than $10.50, the determination governs. That is where Davis-Bacon really earns its keep, and it is what comes next.

On highway work the story changes completely

If the job is highway work, do not look at the building table. Highway determinations in Puerto Rico are split by municipality and rest on a far more recent survey (the identifier is **SUPR2019-013**, updated May 14, 2024) and the rates are real.

These are from **PR20260010** (highway, municipality of Ciales), modification 1, published May 18, 2026:

And above all of them sits one that comes from a collective bargaining agreement rather than a survey: identifier **ELEC0222-003**, dated September 1, 2023, sets the **electrician (lineperson)** at **$45.80 an hour plus $19.27 in fringes**, a **$65.07 an hour** package, on the same island and under the same federal law that puts $7.25 on the building electrician.

That comparison is the whole lesson of this guide: **what you earn on federal work depends on which determination landed in your contract**, and that determination depends on the construction type and the municipality. When the identifier starts with a union's four letters, the rate is the bargained one and updates with the agreement. When it starts with "SU," it is a survey rate and it sits still until there is a new survey.

Note too that several highway rates (common laborer at $7.89, flagger at $8.28, ironworker at $8.25) are **below Puerto Rico's $10.50**. There the island minimum governs again. Others, like grader operator at $12.53 or crane operator at $12.11, do exceed it, and there the determination governs.

• **Grader/blade operator:** $12.53 + $1.25.
• **Crane operator:** $12.11 + $0.91.
• **Bulldozer operator:** $10.88 + $0.91.
• **Backhoe/excavator operator:** $10.49 + $0.76.
• **Equipment mechanic:** $10.19 + $0.94.
• **Roller operator:** $9.67 + $3.14.
• **Dump truck driver:** $9.40 + $0.85.
• **Pickup truck driver:** $9.21 + $0.48.
• **Carpenter:** $8.75 + $0.61.
• **Cement mason / concrete finisher:** $8.60 + $0.47.
• **Electrician:** $8.80 + $1.22.
• **Flagger (traffic control):** $8.28 + $0.53.
• **Structural ironworker:** $8.25 + $0.57.
• **Laborer, common or general:** $7.89 + $0.47.

What the contractor must do, and you can check

Davis-Bacon is not just a rate: it comes with obligations you can see at a glance on the job. These four you can verify yourself tomorrow:

There is also an apprentice rule that gets abused a lot. An apprentice may be paid **less** than the determination's rate **only** if individually **registered** in an apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or with a state apprenticeship agency the Department recognizes, and if the program's terms are met. Without individual registration, there is no apprentice rate: the classification's full rate is owed.

The U.S. Department of Labor also publishes the compliance issues that come up again and again on DBRA projects, and reading the list is like reading a map of where money leaks: misclassification of laborers and mechanics; failure to pay the full prevailing wage, including fringe benefits, for all hours worked (including overtime hours); incomplete or inaccurate recordkeeping, such as not counting all hours worked or not recording hours by classification when someone worked in two or more classifications in a day; failure to keep a copy of the apprenticeship program and individual registration documents; failure to submit certified payrolls weekly; and failure to post the poster and the applicable wage determination at the site.

And one protection worth memorizing: **retaliation is prohibited** against any worker or applicant for engaging in protected activities. The official list includes complaining to a manager, the contractor, the contracting agency or WHD; cooperating in an investigation; requesting payment of wages; **refusing to return back wages to the contractor**; a third party complaining on your behalf; consulting with WHD staff; informing another worker about their DBRA rights; and testifying at a hearing or trial. Engaging in retaliation may be grounds for debarment.

• **You must be paid weekly.** Not biweekly, not monthly: weekly.
• **The contractor submits weekly certified payroll records** to the contracting agency.
• **The applicable wage determination must be posted at the site**, in a prominent and accessible place where workers can easily see it.
• **The Davis-Bacon poster (WH-1321) must also be posted at the site**, under the same conditions.

How to check your rate and what to do if it does not add up

First, find the determination number. It must be posted at the site; if it is not, that absence is itself one of the compliance failures the Department of Labor lists. The number looks like this: **PR20260001**, with its modification number.

Second, find your exact classification in that table. Not the one that sounds similar, the exact one. Misclassification of laborers and mechanics is the first compliance issue on the official list, and it is where the most is lost. If you worked in two classifications in one day, the hours in each are recorded separately.

Third, add it up properly. Prevailing wage = basic rate **plus** fringe benefits. The contractor may give you the fringes in cash or as real benefits, but the total has to get there. And if the result lands below **$10.50**, Puerto Rico's minimum governs.

Fourth, count the overtime. Past 40 hours a week both the FLSA and **CWHSSA** (the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act) apply, and CWHSSA carries its own liquidated damages for overtime violations on federal contracts. On top of that runs Puerto Rico's Act 379, under which hours past **eight in a day** are already overtime for a construction worker, who is not exempt.

If it does not add up, the route is a complaint with the **Wage and Hour Division**, which has its own office for Puerto Rico in Guaynabo and whose complaints are confidential. Contract payments may be withheld in amounts sufficient to cover unpaid wages and CWHSSA overtime liquidated damages; violations may be grounds for contract termination and three-year debarment. We explain the full procedure in the guide linked below.

One warning before closing: the rates in this guide are those of determinations PR20260001, PR20260003 and PR20260010 as published on May 18, 2026. Determinations get modified, and what applies to your contract is the one incorporated into that contract, not necessarily the most recent. Always confirm against the one posted at your job site.