NYS Public Work Contractor and Subcontractor Registry

Effective January 1, 2025, all companies bidding or contracting to do business in New York State must register in the "New" Contractor Registry (button below), if their work involves any trades covered by Article 8 of the New York State Labor Law (which establishes New York’s Prevailing Wage). Click here to download Article 8 of the New York State Labor Law.

This requirement applies to maintenance work, new or other major construction, subcontractors, owner-operators, and other sole proprietorships.

This requirement applies to public work covered by Article 8 Prevailing Wage statewide.

Please note that this requirement will apply to all contracts with bids received on January 1, 2025 and after. It will also apply to all new subcontractors added to existing contracts.

New York State Registry

Prevailing wage (certified payrolls) and workforce information

Prevailing wage requirements under New York State Labor Law Articles 8 and 9 apply to work performed on public property under City of Rochester's jurisdiction. 

Prevailing wage requirements under federal law (often referred to as Davis-Bacon) apply to work that includes certain types of federal funding.

City of Rochester Ordinance No. 2018-54 establishes workforce goals for all city public work (construction and maintenance) and professional services consulting contracts. 

How do businesses know when these requirements apply? 

New York State prevailing wage applies based on the work being done.

Most City of Rochester contracts for work involving New York State's prevailing wage specify if it applies.  However, work is often ordered using purchase orders and joint purchasing contracts: when this happens, businesses should contact the Office of Compliance before performing any work on-site.  It is also common for work under professional services consulting agreements to include work subject to a prevailing wage.  The prevailing wage applies regardless of the method of contracting.

Davis-Bacon rates apply based on funding sources for work. 

On public work projects, including both federal and state or city funding, both Davis-Bacon rates and New York State rates are in effect. In this case, the higher of the two rates for each type of work is used.  On projects requiring Davis-Bacon rates, the city representative responsible for administering the funding will advise the contractor about the Davis-Bacon rate requirements.

Workforce goals are being introduced for new contracts advertised for bid after July 1, 2018.  They will not apply to contracts already in effect before then.  All contracts with workforce goals will contain language describing the goals.

How do businesses comply with the prevailing wage?

Prevailing wage compliance starts with identifying the types of work for the project and the prevailing wage rates in effect for those types of work.  For both New York State and Davis-Bacon's prevailing wage, some schedules show, for each type of work, the minimum required wage and fringe benefits to be paid. 

New York State publishes a new prevailing wage schedule on July 1 of each year, with occasional updates throughout the year.  The rates may change during the life of a contract.  The wage rate that must be paid is the wage rate in effect at the time the work was performed.  For most work performed for the City of Rochester, there is a Prevailing Wage Case Number (PRC#) assigned to the contract.  

When needed, the Office of Compliance will obtain a PRC# when it determines that prevailing wage work is being done without an existing PRC#, (such as work performed under a professional services agreement which initially did not appear to include prevailing wage work).  

Rates currently in effect can be found on the New York State Department of Labor’s website, by either:

1. Clicking the link “Wage Schedule online” and using the known PRC# for the work, or
2. Clicking on either “Article 8 – Construction” or “Article 9 – Building Service” (Article 8 is most common in city work) on the left, under “Prevailing Wage Schedules and Updates.”  On the new page, be careful to select “Monroe” County before clicking “View.”  This will bring up a current generic schedule.

Davis-Bacon rates are fixed for the life of a contract. The schedule will be assigned either before bidding or at the time of contracting. The correct schedule will be identified by a “Modification #.” All Davis-Bacon schedules can be viewed online at the U.S. Department of Labor’s website. Use NY10 as the “DBA WD” number to select the rates, either current or “Archived.”

Certified payrolls

The primary reporting method for prevailing wage requirements is certified payrolls. Certified payrolls account for all work on-site and show all work has been paid at prevailing wage rates. 

Certified Payrolls must be provided to the Office of Compliance. The City is transitioning to online submittal of payrolls for new contracts (see below).  Payrolls for grandfathered contracts can be sent as PDF files to compliance@cityofrochester.gov. Sample certified payroll forms are provided below. 

If certified payrolls show a business paid its employees incorrectly, this can be remedied in consultation with the Office of Compliance. 

In certain cases, there may be other compliance documentation required. The Office of Compliance will advise businesses about these requirements as soon as it is clear the additional requirement exists. Samples of City forms are provided below.

How do businesses comply with the workforce requirements?

Workforce requirements will be detailed in each contract. Reporting is required on a schedule appropriate to the nature of work performed. Reporting will either be online (see below) or on the required forms listed below.  For contracts involving public work, contractors will report monthly.  Other contractors will be notified of the reporting schedule at the time of contracting.

Online submission of certified payrolls and workforce information

To streamline the process of submitting certified payrolls and workforce data, the City of Rochester has contracted a cloud-based software provider, LCP Tracker™. 

LCP Tracker™ functions as a filter to help ensure certified payrolls are complete and correct the first time they are submitted.  

LCP Tracker™ also functions to collect Workforce data.  Because certified payrolls submitted through LCP Tracker™ include gender and ethnicity information, the software will eliminate the contractors’ separate workforce paperwork.

Prime Contract Holders will be notified at the start of the contract if LCP Tracker™ will be used. While this program is being introduced, the City of Rochester will provide training to Prime Contract Holders on using LCP Tracker™. 

For contracts with workers subject to workforce goals but not subject to prevailing wage rates, there is a Non-Prevailing Wage schedule.  This will allow companies to submit certified payrolls that show pay rates of $0.00, reflect the types of work, and provide necessary workforce data.

Access LCP Tracker

Forms

• Model Certified Payroll; Instructions 
• Subcontractor’s Certification 
• Prime Contractor’s Certification
• Monthly Workforce Utilization Report
• Cumulative Workforce Utilization Report
•  Workforce Plan for Public Works 
• Prevailing Wage, Workforce, and MWBE Documentation Checklist
• Summary of Labor Law Requirements Booklet

Useful links

• For OSHA-certified online OSHA training organizations, visit the United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration website, here: https://www.osha.gov/dte/outreach/training_providers.html  Please note that training from organizations not identified by OSHA as certified may not be valid and effective.
• For information about New York State’s Labor Law, as it relates to Public Work, visit the New York State Department of Labor, Bureau of Public Work website, here: https://www.labor.state.ny.us/workerprotection/publicwork/PWContents.shtm
• For the New York State Labor Law, Articles 8 & 9, visit the New York State Assembly website, here: http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/lawssrch.cgi?NVLWO:  Select “LAB” in the list of contents.
• For the New York State Registry web-site, here: https://dol.ny.gov/public-work-contractor-and-subcontractor-registry-landing