NRS 338: Nevada Public Works, Prevailing Wages, and Bidding

Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 338 governs public works in Nevada, setting the rules every contractor and public body must follow when government money pays for construction, reconstruction, improvement, or repair. The $100,000 estimated cost mark is the dividing line: at or above it, the project triggers formal advertising, competitive bidding, and prevailing wage requirements. Below it, procurement still happens, but through streamlined procedures.¹

What Counts as a Public Work

NRS 338.010 defines a public work as any construction, reconstruction, improvement, or repair of a facility sponsored or financed by a public body. “Public body” sweeps in the state, counties, cities, towns, school districts, and other public agencies or political subdivisions.¹ A state highway resurfacing, a county courthouse remodel, and a school district gym addition all fall inside the chapter.

Once estimated cost reaches $100,000, the public body must advertise for bids in a qualified newspaper published in the county where the work will be done. State projects under NRS 338.1385 and local government projects under NRS 338.143 share the same threshold.²

What Falls Outside Chapter 338

Several categories sit outside the prevailing wage and bidding requirements under NRS 338.080:

Projects with an estimated cost under $100,000. A public body cannot split a larger project into pieces to duck below the line.
Normal operations and routine maintenance that doesn’t involve new construction.
Emergency work.
Contracts purely for goods or materials, with no construction labor attached.

NRS 338.0115 adds a separate carve-out for projects built by private developers, even when the project receives public financing, sits on publicly owned land, or has to meet a public body’s construction standards.¹ If a private entity is doing the building on a public-private deal, Chapter 338 may not reach it.

Prevailing Wages, Overtime, and Payroll Records

Every public works contract must spell out the hourly and daily wage rates for each craft, and those rates cannot fall below the prevailing wage set by the Labor Commissioner for the region where the project is located.³ When the prevailing rate for a craft comes from a collective bargaining agreement, the determination also includes any additional compensation that agreement requires, such as overtime premiums or geographic zone pay. Scheduled raises built into the agreement are picked up through amendments between survey cycles.

Overtime runs at one and a half times the applicable prevailing rate for hours over 40 in a workweek or 8 in a day. A 4/10 schedule (four 10-hour days) is a common exception when the contractor and workers agree to it, but the schedule has to be followed strictly. Hours worked outside the agreed pattern go back on overtime.⁴

Every contractor and subcontractor must keep accurate records of each worker’s name, occupation, and actual hourly and daily wages, and those records have to be open to inspection by the public body and the Labor Commissioner. NRS 338.070 requires certified payroll to be submitted electronically each week, or monthly if both the public body and the Labor Commissioner agree.¹ Each report needs a signed statement of compliance and an itemization of any fringe benefits credited toward the prevailing wage.⁵

Penalties for Underpaying Workers

The cost of shorting a worker on prevailing wage stacks up quickly. Under NRS 338.060, a contractor who pays less than the designated rate forfeits between $20 and $50 to the public body for every calendar day, or part of a day, that each underpaid worker performed on the project. On a long project with a sizeable crew, those daily amounts multiply fast.¹

On top of the daily forfeitures, the Labor Commissioner assesses the full wage differential, so the workers get what they were owed. For willful and repeated violations, the contractor also owes each affected worker damages equal to that same gap. The Commissioner can impose an administrative penalty covering the full cost of investigation and prosecution.¹ A contractor caught underpaying ends up making the workers whole, paying a penalty on top, and reimbursing the state for catching them.

Apprenticeship Quotas

NRS 338.01165 requires contractors and subcontractors on vertical construction (buildings and similar structures) to use apprentices for at least 10 percent of the total labor hours in each apprenticed craft. Every apprentice must be enrolled in a program recognized by the State Apprenticeship Council under Chapter 610.¹ Contractors who aren’t signatories to the sponsoring union must enter into a separate apprenticeship agreement for each apprentice they bring on.

Job order contracts, which cover minor construction on existing public works, carry a higher threshold. Under NRS 338.1568, at least 25 percent of workers on those contracts must be current apprentices or graduates of a registered apprenticeship program.¹ Apprentices are exempt from the full prevailing wage under NRS 338.080 and can be paid at the apprentice rate their training program establishes.

What a Contractor Needs to Bid

A valid license from the Nevada State Contractors Board is the baseline requirement for submitting any public works bid.⁶ A contractor who wants to claim the in-state bidding preference also needs a Certificate of Eligibility from the Board. Getting one requires a CPA-verified affidavit showing the contractor has paid at least $5,000 per year in Nevada sales, use, or governmental services taxes for the preceding 60 consecutive months.⁷

The bid must identify every first-tier subcontractor who will be paid more than $250,000 for their portion of the work. If the bid lands among the three lowest, the contractor must also list any first-tier subcontractor being paid at least 1 percent of the total bid or $50,000, whichever is greater, along with each subcontractor’s license number. Once named, those subcontractors can’t be swapped out unless the public body requests the change in writing or a narrow statutory exception applies.⁸ The rule is designed to stop bid shopping, where a contractor wins at one price and then squeezes subs for less.

Performance bonds and liability insurance travel with the submission. Plans and technical specifications come from the purchasing department of the relevant agency. An incomplete or inaccurate bid is rejected as non-responsive, so licensing records, tax documentation, and bond certificates should be in order well before the deadline.

How Bids Get Evaluated

The default rule under NRS 338.1385 is that the contract goes to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. “Responsive” means the bid meets every technical requirement in the solicitation. “Responsible” means the contractor has the financial capacity, integrity, and track record to finish the job.² If the winning bidder fails to execute the contract, the public body can move to the next qualified bid.

The 5 Percent In-State Preference

On projects with an estimated cost over $250,000, Nevada gives a 5 percent bidding preference to contractors holding a valid Certificate of Eligibility. A local contractor whose bid is up to 5 percent higher than a non-local competitor’s is treated as the lower bidder for evaluation purposes.⁹ Projects under $250,000 don’t trigger the preference at all.

A contractor who submits false tax information to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility loses preference eligibility for five years from the date the State Contractors Board discovers the fraud.⁷ A material breach of a public works contract exceeding $5,000,000 within the previous five years also disqualifies a contractor from the preference.

Bid Protests

A bidder who believes the award process violated state law can file a protest under NRS 338.142, which sets the filing period, required contents, bond or security requirements, and the effect of the protest on the contract. The filing window is typically short, so anyone considering a protest should read the statute or consult counsel immediately after award.

Veteran and Nevada Resident Hiring

NRS 338.130 sets a hiring order for workers on public works projects when qualifications are equal:

First, honorably discharged veterans of the U.S. military, reserve components, or National Guard who are Nevada residents.
Second, other Nevada residents.

Contractors have to document hiring decisions well enough to show they followed that order.¹⁰ Public bodies can audit the records at any time, and failing to comply can mean penalties or lost eligibility on future projects.

Alternatives to Low-Bid Contracting

Standard sealed-bid procurement isn’t the only option. NRS 338.1685 through 338.16995 authorize construction manager at risk (CMAR) delivery, where the CMAR first provides preconstruction services like cost estimating and constructability analysis and then takes on the risk of building the project under a separate contract. NRS 338.1711 through 338.1727 authorize design-build contracts, where a single team handles both design and construction. The legislature intended these methods to secure better overall value than low-bid contracting, not to limit competition or enable bid shopping.¹ Qualification and selection procedures for both methods differ significantly from the standard process and need to be reviewed in the statute before pursuing them.

Payment Timing and Retainage

NRS 338.515 requires a public body to pay the general contractor within 30 days of receiving a proper progress bill, or sooner if the contract says so.¹¹ Once that money arrives, NRS 338.550 gives the general contractor 10 days to pass each subcontractor’s and supplier’s share along, including any accrued interest, in proportion to their basis in the progress bill.¹² Smaller trade contractors and material suppliers rarely have the balance sheet to absorb longer gaps.

The public body withholds 5 percent of each progress payment as retainage. After 50 percent of the contracted work is complete, the public body has discretion to stop withholding additional retainage on future payments and may release some of what’s already held, as long as the work is progressing satisfactorily.¹¹ Once the public body formally accepts the completed project, the full retainage balance has to be released.

Withholding payments without legal justification exposes the public body or contractor to interest penalties under NRS 338.555. A subcontractor who has to sue to collect money already earned can also recover legal fees, which makes stonewalling an expensive strategy for whoever is holding the funds.

1
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 338 – Public Works
2
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 338.1385 – Advertising for Bids and Compliance With Certain Provisions Required for Commencement of Certain Public Works
3
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 338.020 – Hourly and Daily Rate of Wages Must Not Be Less Than Prevailing Wage in Region
4
Nevada Labor Commissioner. Public Works FAQ – What Is a Public Work
5
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Administrative Code Chapter 338 – Public Works Projects
6
Nevada State Contractors Board. General Requirements
7
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 338.1389 – Contract for Public Work for Which Estimated Cost Exceeds $250,000 Must Be Awarded to Contractor Who Submits Best Bid
8
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 338.141 – Bids to Include Certain Information Concerning Subcontractors and Prime Contractors
9
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 338.147 – Contract for Public Work for Which Estimated Cost Exceeds $250,000 Must Be Awarded to Contractor Who Submits Best Bid
10
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code NRS 338.130 – Preferential Employment in Construction of Public Works
11
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 338.515
12
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 338.550