DOL Issues FAQ on Applicability of Prevailing Wage Act to Landscape Work

DOL Issues FAQ on Applicability of Prevailing Wage Act to Landscape Work

  Friday, May 17, 2013    Julie Tappendorf

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Last week, the Illinois Department of Labor issued a "FAQ" to address commonly raised questions about the applicability of the Prevailing Wage Act ("Act") to landscape work.  In sum, the DOL states that "hardscape work" and landscaping work in conjunction with a public work project are covered by the Act but that most types of landscape maintenance activities are not.
 

The DOL provides helpful examples to break down these distinctions in the FAQ.  A few of these are listed below:

 

Covered by Prevailing Wage Act:

Hardscape work includes "work associated with buiding, making, forming, demolishing brick or concrete paths or walk ways, fountains, concrete or masonry planters or retaining walls".  These type of activities are considered covered work under the Act.

Landscape work in conjunction with other covered work is also covered by the Act and includes the following:

1. original installation of landscape materials in connection with covered work involving buildings or structures.
2. landscape work in conjunction with covered work involving any road, boulevard, street, highway, bridge project, sewer or underground project.
3. lawn and landscape restoration performed in conjunction with covered work involving trenches and manholes, pipes, cables and conduits.
4. preparation of and landscaping of approaches associated with covered work performed in connection with shafts, tunnels, subways, and sewers.
5. landscaping of an old or new site in conjunction with covered work involving underpinning, lagging, bracing, propping or shoring.
6. landscaping in connection with covered work involving earthmoving and grading.
7. landscaping in connection with covered work performed at a park or preserve.

Not Covered by Prevailing Wage Act:

The following are examples of landscape work that is not covered by the Act, provided that the work is not being performed in conjunction with covered work unless a certificate of substantial completion has been issued or final payment been made relating to that covered work:

1. lawn mowing or grass cutting
2. line trimming
3. edging
4. weeding
5. cultivating beds
6. mulch application
7. bed preparation using soil amendments
8. core aeration
9. sweeping and blowing of landscape materials
10. pruning, planting, removal or replacement of shrubs, plants and flowers
11. pruning of trees and replacement of diseased, damaged, or hazardous trees
12. seeding
13. application of fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide, fungicide
14. aquatic applications, raking, watering of trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, bulbs, seeds and sod
15. grooming
16. dividing plants
17. dead-leafing
18. sweeping
19. trash pick-up and removal of landscape litter
20. holiday light and seasonal decoration installation, excluding electrical connections

Notwithstanding this new FAQ, the DOL website still lists the following Q&A on its website:

​Is landscape work covered under the Prevailing Wage Act?

Yes.