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Prevailing-wage dispute over fiber-optic classification could complicate $1.16 billion broadband rollout, lawmakers warn
Summary
Lawmakers pressed the Department of Labor and Industry about a contested prevailing-wage rate that applies electrical line wage classifications to fiber-optic installers. The department said the matter is before the Prevailing Wage Appeal Board after a Warren County determination, and that it needs empirical evidence
A dispute over whether fiber-optic installation work should carry electrical line prevailing-wage rates drew repeated questioning at the Feb. 24 appropriations hearing, and several lawmakers said the unresolved classification risks complicating use of federal broadband deployment dollars.
Representative Krupa and others asked why the department used an electrical-line construction classification that has higher wage and workers'compensation rates rather than a telecommunications classification for some fiber-optic installation work. Officials…
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