The Committee's Objective
After the committee, having been duly appointed, assembles in accordance with the Indiana's Open Door Law, the committee is charged to determine in writing the most common wage, including fringe benefits, for each classification and level of skill. The committee must review county-specific data for any reports with respect to wages submitted by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana and for any reports with respect to wages submitted by the Indiana State Building and Construction Trades Council.
The Committee and Its Members
Indiana's common construction wage committees are established at the request of an awarding governmental agency. However, the committees themselves are autonomous in nature, with three of the five committee members being appointed by separate appointing authorities as specified in Indiana code 5-16-7-1(b).
The law specifically states that the committee does not have to consider information not presented at the meeting. IC 5-16-7-1(c)
After considering the data, the committee must then determine in writing the classifications of the trades or crafts to be employed. These classifications are divided into the three classes of: skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled trades people. IC 5-16-7-1(c)(1). The committee must then determine "a scale of wages for each." IC 5-16-7-4(1)
The law provides that, "the rate of wages determined....shall not be less than the common construction wage...currently being paid in the county where the project is located." IC 5-16-7-1(d).
Fringe Benefits
Thus, for the purpose of determining the common construction wage, any fringe benefits paid to construction trades people in the county must be included in the computation of the common construction wage, wages and/or fringe benefits do not include those benefits and/or taxes that are legally mandated by the state or federal law.
