6-25-728 Article 07 ApprenticeshipRequirements.pdf

Article 07: Apprenticeship Requirements 4-22

ARTICLE 07: APPRENTICESHIP REQUIREMENTS

In accordance with RCW 39.04.320, for all public works estimated to cost one million dollars or more, the State of Washington requires no less than 15% of the labor hours be performed by apprentices. The GC/CM or any subcontractor may not be required to exceed the 15% requirement. On applicable bid packages, the GC/CM’s bid advertisement and Bid Form for subcontractor bid packages shall establish a minimum required percentage of apprentice labor hours compared to the total labor hours.

7.1 Incentives and Penalties

1. Incentives – A project that meets or exceeds this utilization requirement on eligible contracts, will be awarded a monetary incentive. The GCCM agrees to utilize the 15% overall level of apprentice participation. A monetary incentive of $1,000 will be paid to the project meeting the apprentice utilization requirement.

2. Penalties - A GC/CM which fails to meet the utilization requirement and fails to demonstrate a Good Faith Effort, as outlined below, is subject to penalties. The penalty will be applied to every hour of shortfall of the minimum number of required apprentice hours using the applicable published wage of a Step 1 apprentice laborer in the County where the project will be built. The penalty will not exceed five percent (5%) of the Total Contract Cost (TCC).

3. Cost Value - The expected cost value associated with meeting the goal is included in the Base Bid.

7.2 Apprenticeship Utilization Plan

Utilization Plan - The GC/CM shall provide an Apprentice Utilization Plan (Plan) demonstrating how and when they intend to achieve the Apprenticeship Utilization Requirement. The Plan shall have enough information to track the GC/CM’s progress in meeting the utilization requirement.

The GC/CM shall submit the Plan on the Apprentice Utilization Plan template (on the DES Public Works Forms website) within 10 business days of Notice to Proceed of the Contract for Construction for GCCM and prior to submitting the first invoice. The GC/CM shall provide an updated Plan during the course of construction when there are significant changes to the Plan which may affect their ability to meet the requirement.

1. The Plan shall be uploaded to the Department of Labor & Industries’ (L&I) Prevailing

Wage Intents and Affidavit (PWIA) system on L&I’s website.

2. The Plan is not submitted for approval.

3. It is expected that the GC/CM and subcontractors will actively seek out opportunities to meet the Apprentice Utilization Requirement during construction even if the Plan indicates a shortfall in meeting the requirement.

4. If the Plan indicates that the project will not attain the Apprentice Utilization Requirement, then GC/CM must submit “Good Faith Effort” (GFE) documentation with their Plan to L&I’s PWIA system.

7.3 Good Faith Effort (GFE)

1. Good Faith Effort (GFE) documentation shall describe in detail why the project is not or was not able to attain the Apprentice Utilization Requirement.

(a) GC/CMs may submit Good Faith Effort (GFE) documentation at any time during the construction.

https://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=39.04.320

Article 07: Apprenticeship Requirements 4-22

(b) All GFE documentation must be submitted no later than 30 days before substantial completion.

2. Good Faith Effort (GFE) documentation must be in signed letter format uploaded to the PWIA system and include:

(a) The contract number, title, and the apprentice utilization requirements,

(b) The amount of apprentice labor hours the contract can or did attain along with the percentage of labor hours, the GC/CM or subcontractors may receive a GFE credit for graduated Apprentice hours through the end of the calendar year for all projects worked on as long as the Apprentice remains continuously employed with the same Contractor they were working for when they graduated. If an Apprentice graduates during employment on a project of significant duration, they may be counted towards a GFE credit for up to one year after their graduation or until the end of the project (whichever comes first). Determination of whether or not Contract requirements were met in good faith will be made by subtracting the hours from the journeyman total reported hours for the project and adding them to the apprentice hour total. If the new utilization percentage meets the Contract requirement, the GC/CM and subcontractor will be reported as meeting the requirement in good faith,

(c) Anticipated or actual shortfall (in apprentice labor hours and percentage) and the reason(s) for not attaining the required apprentice labor hours,

(d) Information from one or more of the following areas:

(a) Names of any State-Approved Apprentice Training Programs contacted with the name(s) of person(s) contacted and dates of contacts, and a copy of each response from the Training Program(s),

(b) Reference Contract Specifications or documents that affected the GC/CM’s ability to attain apprentice utilization,

(c) Discuss efforts the GC/CM has taken to require Subcontractors to solicit and employ apprentices,

4. Backup documentation to the letter should include following:

Letters, emails, phone logs including names dates and outcomes, posters, photos, payrolls, timecards, schedules, copies or references to other contract specifications or documents.

7.4 Additional Resource Information

1. For questions regarding how to complete the Apprentice Utilization Plan template or Good Faith Effort documentation, please contact the DES Project Manager.

2. Step-by-step instructions on how to access and navigate the L&I’s PWIA system, including uploading required documents can be found on the L&I website.

3. Additional information about apprentice utilization on Public Works Project can be found on the L&I website.