Repealed in 2018, reinstated in 2024. Here is what actually applies to a Michigan state project today, where the county rate schedules live, and which payroll records you owe.
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Michigan is the one state where searching for the answer usually gets you the wrong decade. The law was repealed, then brought back, then amended, and plenty of material online still describes the gap years. Here is the sequence, straight from the state's own compiled statutes.
1965 to 2018
The original act, then repeal
Michigan's prevailing wage law was 1965 PA 166, MCL 408.551 to 408.558. The Legislature repealed those sections with 2018 PA 171, immediate effect June 6, 2018.
2018 to 2024
No state statute
For about five and a half years there was no Michigan prevailing wage statute. State-funded construction was handled through state administrative practice rather than the act, which is the era most outdated articles are describing.
March 2023
Reinstatement enacted
Enrolled House Bill 4007 became 2023 PA 10, approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State on March 24, 2023, with an effective date set at the 91st day after final adjournment.
February 13, 2024
Act 10 takes effect
2023 PA 10 took effect February 13, 2024 and is compiled at MCL 408.1101 to 408.1126. By its own terms the act does not apply to contracts entered into or bids made before its effective date.
April 2, 2025
Registration and online payroll added
2024 PA 110 amended the act effective April 2, 2025. It added the State Project Registration requirement (MCL 408.1102a), built out the certified payroll database and transmission deadlines (MCL 408.1122), and pulled energy facility projects into coverage.
2026
In force, with online submission live
LEO Wage and Hour publishes contractor registration, project registration, official county rate schedules and online certified payroll submission for the act right now. That is the operative regime for a Michigan state project.
One honest caveat
Michigan prevailing wage has been politically and legally contested for a decade, and the act itself carries a severability clause at MCL 408.1126 saying the rest survives if any portion is held invalid. We are not going to tell you how any future challenge lands. What we can tell you is that as of this page's last update the act appears on legislature.mi.gov as in force with its 2024 amendment, and LEO is actively administering registration, rates and payroll submission under it. Check LEO Wage and Hour and MCL Act 10 of 2023 before you bid.
Sources: MCL Act 166 of 1965 (repeal history), MCL Act 10 of 2023, MCL 408.1102a, michigan.gov LEO Prevailing Wage.
Two questions decide it: is this a state project, and are these workers construction mechanics.
State project
New construction, alteration, repair, installation, painting, decorating, completion, demolition, conditioning, reconditioning, or improvement of public buildings, schools, works, bridges, highways, or roads that is authorized by a public contracting agent and sponsored or financed in whole or in part by the state. An energy facility project also counts (MCL 408.1101).
Construction mechanic
A skilled or unskilled mechanic, laborer, worker, helper, assistant, or apprentice working on a state project. It does not include executive, administrative, professional, office, or custodial employees. LEO notes the rates are developed exclusively for construction mechanics.
Energy facilities at 2 MW and up
Solar, wind and energy storage facilities with a nameplate capacity of 2 megawatts or more, for new construction, completion, demolition, major alteration or repowering. These projects can have a private contracting agent, so state financing is not the only trigger any more.
State Project Registration first
A contractor cannot bid or work without a registration, cannot list an unregistered subcontractor on a bid, and must include registration copies in the bid. Registrations run 1 year and LEO states the annual fee is $500 (MCL 408.1102, MCL 408.1102a).
Federal Davis-Bacon contracts are exempt
Contracts on state projects that require prevailing wages as determined by the U.S. Secretary of Labor under 40 USC 3141 to 3148 are exempt from the act, as are contracts whose minimum wage schedules already match the locality's collective bargaining rates (MCL 408.1102(1)).
One millage carve-out
The act does not apply to a state project paid for in whole or in part from revenue from a millage authorized under the Revised School Code before the act's effective date (MCL 408.1109).
Nothing in the text of Act 10 sets a contract dollar minimum, which is a real difference from Davis-Bacon's $2,000 floor. Read the definitions yourself at MCL Act 10 of 2023.
There is one official source and it is not a PDF someone emailed you. LEO Wage and Hour publishes a rate schedule for every one of Michigan's 83 counties on the Prevailing Wages By County page. Click the county, get the classifications and rates.
The November 1 cycle is the reason a search for Michigan prevailing wage rates for 2026 and one for 2025 return different documents. Pay the rate schedule that came with your contract, not whatever is newest on the site.
A Michigan rate is two numbers per classification: an hourly base wage and an hourly fringe benefit rate. You owe both. The act requires you to pay wages and fringe benefits at the rates required under the contract, and to keep an accurate record of the name, occupation, and actual wages and benefits paid to each construction mechanic.
The rates below are illustrative placeholders, not Michigan rates. Use the actual published rate for your county and classification.
One construction mechanic on a state project. Say the county schedule for the classification shows a $40.00 base rate and a $25.00 fringe rate. The crew works eight hours Monday through Friday plus eight hours on Saturday, so 48 hours in the pay week, and the schedule carries no special note, meaning LEO's standard overtime rules apply.
| Line | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Straight time, Mon to Fri | 40 hrs at $40.00 base | $1,600.00 |
| Saturday overtime | 8 hrs at 1.5 x $40.00 base = $60.00 | $480.00 |
| Total cash wages before fringe | $1,600.00 + $480.00 | $2,080.00 |
| Fringe obligation | 48 hrs at the $25.00 fringe rate | $1,200.00 |
| Total wage and fringe obligation | $2,080.00 + $1,200.00 | $3,280.00 |
| Credit for bona fide plans | 48 hrs at $18.00 contributed | $864.00 |
| Cash in lieu still owed | 48 hrs at the remaining $7.00 | $336.00 |
| Cash the worker actually receives | $2,080.00 + $336.00 | $2,416.00 |
Two things trip people up here. The overtime multiplier runs on the base rate, which is exactly how LEO words it on the county rate page, so the fringe rate is not multiplied for the Saturday hours. And the fringe obligation is owed on all 48 hours, not just the straight-time 40. Underfund the plan and the shortfall becomes cash wages, which is the $336.00 line.
Want this done for your own numbers? Use the free prevailing wage calculator or read how to calculate fringe benefits on prevailing wage projects.
This is the part of Act 10 that changed most in 2025, and it is the part that carries a deadline. MCL 408.1122 is the section to read.
10 days after the end of the pay period
A contractor or subcontractor must transmit the pay period's certified payroll records no later than 10 days after the end of that pay period. This is a pay-period deadline, not the federal weekly-payment-date rule.
Keep the records 3 years
A contracting agent, contractor or subcontractor must maintain certified payroll records and other records required under the act for a minimum of 3 years. Failure to maintain records can draw the act's civil penalties.
Submission moved to a state database
The statute sent records to the applicable contracting agent before the one-year mark after 2024 PA 110 took effect on April 2, 2025, and to LEO's online certified payroll database on or after it. LEO now runs an online certified payroll submission process, and DTMB's guidance tells state-project contractors to submit certified payroll directly to LEO Wage and Hour, not to DTMB.
What each record has to contain
For each construction mechanic: classification; whether they are an apprentice, journeyman or other skill level; gross wages paid in the pay period; hours worked each day; starting and ending times each day; hourly wage rate; hourly overtime wage rate; and hourly fringe benefit rate.
What must not be in it
The database does not display or include a construction mechanic's home address, telephone number or Social Security number. Michigan drew the same line the 2023 federal rule did.
An electronic attestation, with teeth
At submission you attest by electronic signature that the record is complete and accurate, that the wage and fringe rates paid are not less than the act requires, that you reviewed the record, and that you understand a violation can mean revocation or suspension of a State Project Registration or denial of an application. Submitting a record you know contains a false statement is separately prohibited.
Two exceptions worth knowing
You are not required to transmit under this section if you are otherwise required by law to transmit certified payroll to the state transportation department, or if your work on an energy facility project is solely routine maintenance or repair (MCL 408.1122(6)).
MDOT runs its own lane
MDOT states its prevailing wage rates are set under the Davis-Bacon Related Acts or Michigan Prevailing Wage Law, Act 10 of 2023 as amended in 2024, and it collects contractor certified payroll on its own Form CP-347 through its labor compliance system. If you are on an MDOT job, follow MDOT's process.
Sources: MCL 408.1122, michigan.gov LEO Prevailing Wage, michigan.gov MDOT prevailing wage compliance.
Davis-Bacon applies to federally funded and federally assisted construction in Michigan on its own authority, independent of anything the Legislature does. Act 10 then steps back: MCL 408.1102(1) exempts contracts that require the federal rates.
| Requirement | Michigan Act 10 | Federal Davis-Bacon |
|---|---|---|
| Governing law | 2023 PA 10, MCL 408.1101 to 408.1126 | Davis-Bacon Act, 40 USC 3141 to 3148 |
| Applies to | State projects and energy facility projects | Federal and federally assisted construction |
| Contract threshold | None stated in the act | $2,000 and up |
| Agency | LEO Wage and Hour | U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division |
| Rate source | LEO county rate schedules | DOL wage determination in the contract |
| Rate update cycle | Annually on November 1 per LEO | Determinations revised by DOL |
| Payroll frequency | Within 10 days after the pay period ends | Weekly |
| Payroll deadline rule | MCL 408.1122(1) | Within 7 days after the regular payment date (29 CFR 3.4(a)) |
| Form | Records submitted to LEO's payroll database | Optional Form WH-347 |
| Certification | Electronic-signature attestation (MCL 408.1122(2)(d)) | Statement of Compliance (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(C)) |
| Record retention | Minimum 3 years | 3 years after work on the prime contract is completed |
| Registration to bid | State Project Registration required | Not required by Davis-Bacon |
On the federal side the certified payroll goes to the contracting or sponsoring agency within 7 days after the regular payment date of the payroll period, and each one carries a Statement of Compliance certifying that the records are correct and complete, that full weekly wages were paid without unlawful deduction, and that every laborer and mechanic was paid not less than the applicable rates and fringes for the classification actually performed. Falsifying it exposes you to 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 31 U.S.C. 3729. Full Social Security numbers, home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses must not appear on a submitted weekly payroll; use an individually identifying number such as the last four digits.
Sources: dol.gov Form WH-347, 29 CFR 3.4, 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3). Line-by-line help: WH-347 instructions and how to fill out the WH-347 step by step.
We produce the reports. You file them with the agency or the state database. We never submit anything to any agency on your behalf.
To be straight with you: we build state-specific report formats for California, Illinois and New York today. Michigan work runs on our certified payroll reports and the federal WH-347. If Michigan publishes a state-specific form, that is the point we would build it.
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Start Free TrialYes. Michigan's prevailing wage requirement for state projects is 2023 PA 10, compiled at MCL 408.1101 to 408.1126, effective February 13, 2024. It was amended by 2024 PA 110, effective April 2, 2025. LEO Wage and Hour administers it and publishes county rate schedules, contractor registration, and certified payroll submission for it today.
Michigan's original law was 1965 PA 166, MCL 408.551 to 408.558. The Legislature repealed it with 2018 PA 171, immediate effect June 6, 2018. For roughly five and a half years there was no state prevailing wage statute. 2023 PA 10 reinstated the requirement effective February 13, 2024, so anything you read about Michigan having no prevailing wage law describes the 2018 to 2024 gap, not current law.
LEO publishes an official rate schedule for each of Michigan's 83 counties on the Prevailing Wages By County page. Click a county to see the rates for every classification. Classification descriptions are in LEO's WHD 9820 document. On a state project the contracting agent must have LEO determine the rates before advertising for bids, and that schedule becomes part of the specifications and is printed on the bidding forms (MCL 408.1103).
LEO states that prevailing wage rates are updated annually on November 1. Rate surveys can be submitted any time during the year but must be in before September 30. LEO also notes rates are subject to change if clerical errors are found, with any such change noted on the rate table. That November 1 cycle is why the 2026 schedule is a different document from the 2025 one.
Yes. Under MCL 408.1122, a contractor or subcontractor must transmit certified payroll records no later than 10 days after the end of a pay period, and must keep certified payroll records and other records required by the act for a minimum of 3 years. The statute phased submission from the contracting agent to a state online certified payroll database maintained by LEO one year after the April 2, 2025 effective date of 2024 PA 110. DTMB's own guidance tells contractors certified payroll goes directly to LEO Wage and Hour, never to DTMB.
Yes. Under MCL 408.1102a a contractor or subcontractor must hold a State Project Registration to bid on or perform work on a state project, and a contractor must include a copy of its own registration and each selected subcontractor's registration in the bid. A registration is valid for 1 year. LEO states the annual fee is $500. DTMB's April 2025 FAQ says a bid submitted without the required registration is determined not responsive and cannot be awarded a contract.
Generally no, because federal law takes over. MCL 408.1102(1) exempts contracts on state projects that require payment of prevailing wages as determined by the U.S. Secretary of Labor under 40 USC 3141 to 3148. On a federally funded or federally assisted Michigan job you follow Davis-Bacon: the DOL wage determination in the contract, weekly certified payroll, and the Statement of Compliance under 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(C).
2024 PA 110 brought energy facility projects into the act. MCL 408.1101 defines a solar energy facility, wind energy facility, or energy storage facility by a nameplate capacity of 2 megawatts or more, and defines an energy facility project as new construction, completion, demolition, major alteration, or repowering of one. Those projects can have a private contracting agent, so coverage is not limited to state-financed work. MCL 408.1122(6)(b) excuses certified payroll transmission where the work on an energy facility is solely routine maintenance or repair.
MCL 408.1108 makes a violation subject to a civil fine of not more than $5,000, collectible by the county prosecutor or the Attorney General, and makes a contractor and its subcontractor jointly and severally liable. MCL 408.1113 separately lets LEO assess a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation plus an additional 10% penalty, due within 15 working days. A contracting agent can also terminate the contractor's right to proceed and recover excess completion costs (MCL 408.1106), and a false certified payroll record can cost you your State Project Registration.
We produce the certified payroll records you submit. Enter hours by day and classification and we calculate straight time, overtime, the fringe credit and cash in lieu, then generate a certified report with the worker, classification, skill level, daily hours, hourly rates and fringe figures Michigan's payroll database asks for, plus the federal WH-347 for Davis-Bacon work in Michigan. Lydia flags wages below the rate you entered for the classification before you certify. You file with the agency or the state database; we do not submit anything to any agency on your behalf.
Start the free trial. Enter hours by day and classification, and get a certified payroll report with the base rate, overtime, fringe credit and cash in lieu already worked out.
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