North Carolina apprentices receive 90% of the applicable base rate, rounded to the lowest nickel, according to North Carolina General Assembly.
Key takeaways
- Confirm the applicable base before calculating the 90% apprentice share.
- Track each subminimum line's start date and end date against the 52-week limit.
- Keep impaired-capacity certificates with the lines they support.
- Save the unrounded calculation beside the final rounded rate.
- The three-year record period, according to Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, is Alaska's requirement; check North Carolina's own record rule before choosing a retention period.
Who the North Carolina apprentice rule covers
The North Carolina rule names four groups: full-time students, learners, apprentices and messengers. The statute, according to North Carolina General Assembly, defines those groups under the Fair Labor Standards Act, so the terms should be read the way federal law uses them. In your labor schedule, list each worker and mark which ones fall in one of those groups before any apprentice line is priced at the 90% share.
The Washington youth rate is written for a different group, so it needs its own line in any comparison. The minimum wage for 14-and 15-year-old workers will be $15.07 an hour, according to Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, which is a youth figure and not an apprentice figure. Washington also sets minors 14 to 15 years old at no less than 85% of minimum wage, according to the same source, so that youth floor is its own group. Each percentage should be read against the group named beside it, and a Washington figure should stay off a North Carolina sheet.
Before a bid goes out, compare each apprentice line with the public bid pricing wage provisions page. The 90% share is a percentage formula from the statute, not a prevailing wage figure taken from a bid notice.
Your bid sheet should flag each worker's group before pricing, so the 90% share lands on the people the statute names. Beside each worker's hours and classification, add the group name so the labor schedule can be read without a separate lookup. A worker outside those four groups who does not hold an impaired-capacity certificate should be priced at the base rate in effect, not at the apprentice share.
The base rate that the 90% is applied to
The statute, according to North Carolina General Assembly, applies the 90% share to the rate in effect under subsection (a). Subsection (a), according to the same source, requires wages of at least six dollars and fifteen cents ($6.15) an hour or the minimum wage of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as that wage may change from time to time, whichever is higher. On the rate sheet, put the state figure and the federal figure in separate cells so the higher one can be identified at a glance.
Check the federal minimum wage when you set the base. The statute sets the higher of two floors, so an estimate built on the lower one would sit under the statute's floor.
Choosing the bid wage is a separate step from fixing the base, so read the construction wage selection checks for a bid rate page before you lock the bid rate. The base is the input the apprentice share is calculated from, while the bid rate is the number the estimator selects. A reviewer should be able to tell the floor from the bid rate on the estimate.
On the bid file, note the date of the base you used, so a later change in the rate in effect can be traced. A dated base line also shows which apprentice lines need a second look when the figure moves. Review the base again at each bid revision, and carry the base date into the revised estimate.
In a bid with several trades, keep one base line for each classification, so each apprentice's 90% can be checked against the same base. When a crew changes, add a new base line instead of overwriting the old one, so the earlier figure remains on the record.
The 90% apprentice rule and rounding
The statute, according to North Carolina General Assembly, writes the apprentice share as ninety percent (90%) of the rate in effect under subsection (a) above. On the bid sheet, type the numeral 90% and write the word form in the notes, so a reviewer sees the same figure in both places. The share is worked out after the base has been set, never before it, so write the order of the calculation down as well.
The statute gives a reason for the lower share, according to North Carolina General Assembly, and that reason is to prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment. Record the purpose once in the notes, not on every line, so the sheet stays short.
The rounding, according to North Carolina General Assembly, goes to the lowest nickel, so a share that falls between two nickels rounds down. Apply the rounding as the last calculation on the line, after the 90% share is worked out from the base. Writing the unrounded share beside the final figure lets a reviewer see the difference.
Place the unrounded share and the rounded share on separate rows, so the step can be compared in one place. Label the first row as the unrounded share and the second row as the rounded share.
On every apprentice line, the same share and the same rounding apply, and each figure should trace back to the rate in effect. If a figure cannot be traced from the base line to the 90% share and then to the rounded result, reopen the line before the bid is submitted.
Illustrative example: tracing a rate
For an illustrative base of $10 an hour, applying 90% gives $9 an hour. The result already falls on a nickel, so rounding leaves it unchanged. Record the illustrative base, the calculation and the rounded result together. These figures demonstrate the calculation; they are not a current wage determination.
The 52-week limit on subminimum employment
The regulation issued by the Commissioner, according to North Carolina General Assembly, shall not permit employment at the subminimum rate for a period in excess of 52 weeks. The sentence limits the period, not the percentage, so a subminimum line needs a period as well as a rate. Write the period on the line in weeks, using the same unit as the statute.
Because the limit is written as a period, a subminimum line should carry a start date and an end date rather than an open-ended run. The start date marks when the subminimum rate began on the job. The end date should fall no later than the 52-week limit counted from that start.
On each subminimum line, write the start date and a 52-week end date, so the line stops at the limit. Check the dates at each revision of the bid, and reprice or end any line past its date. Record any repriced line's new terms in the notes.
Track the North Carolina period separately from Washington's youth rate. A bid that spans two states should keep each state's periods on separate lines, so no limit travels with the wrong worker.
A list of subminimum lines, each with its start and end date, makes each line easier to review at a bid revision. Show the employee's group, the start date, the end date and the rate on the same row. Update the list at the same time as the bid notes, so the two stay consistent.
Impaired-capacity rates and certificates
The Commissioner may, according to North Carolina General Assembly, by regulation establish a wage rate less than the wage rate in effect under section (a) for persons whose earning or productive capacity is impaired. This rate is a separate provision from the apprentice share, and it covers a different category of worker. A bid that mixes the two categories on one line makes the source of each figure hard to trace.
The text, according to the same source, names the causes as age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury, and refers to those persons as defined under the Fair Labor Standards Act. A bid line should therefore state that its basis is impairment, not apprenticeship, and name the rule it follows.
The statute, according to North Carolina General Assembly, says certificates establishing eligibility for such subminimum wage shall be issued by the Division of Employment Security. The certificate establishes eligibility, so the bid should hold a copy before the impaired-capacity line is priced. A line priced before the certificate is in hand should carry a note that the certificate is still needed.
The impaired-capacity text is subsection (c) while the apprentice share is subsection (b), according to the same source, so the two should not share one bid line. Each reference should name the subsection by letter, which matches the statute text.
Where a subminimum line depends on a certificate, write that dependence on the line itself. The note should name the rule and the certificate, but not the worker's health details, which keeps private worker information off the bid sheet.
Records to keep for apprentice and subminimum pay
The Alaska text, according to Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, says an employer shall keep payroll information and records for each employee for at least three years at the place of employment. Check North Carolina's own rule before assigning a retention period to a North Carolina bid. A North Carolina record period should not be stated from memory.
Before relying on a three-year figure for North Carolina, read the state's record rule in its own source. Write the source name and the date of review in the notes beside the record period, so a reviewer sees which rule set the period.
In the file for each apprentice, keep the rate applied, the base it came from, and the rounding result. Those items together let a reviewer trace a single pay figure from the statute to the paycheck line. Update each apprentice file whenever the figures change.
In the same payroll file, place the subminimum start and end dates beside that employee's entries. The file should hold those dates for the full time the subminimum rate is in use, so a reviewer can check the period against the 52-week limit without a second search.
When a subminimum line closes, add its closing date to the employee's file. If the line ran over the 52-week limit, the closing note should record the overrun and the correction made, under the same employee name and bid reference as the opening entry.
Next step: today, review one North Carolina apprentice's rate line: confirm the base, check the rounded calculation and record the subminimum start and end dates.
North Carolina apprentice pay in bids
What share of the rate may a North Carolina apprentice receive?
The apprentice share is 90% of the applicable base, rounded to the lowest nickel, according to North Carolina General Assembly.
How long can a subminimum rate run?
The Commissioner's regulation cannot permit subminimum employment beyond 52 weeks, according to North Carolina General Assembly. Check each state's requirements separately when a bid covers work in different states.
Who issues impaired-capacity certificates?
The Division of Employment Security issues the certificates that establish eligibility for the subminimum wage, according to North Carolina General Assembly, under regulations issued by the Commissioner. Those certificates belong with the impaired-capacity line rather than the apprentice line. Subsection (c) holds the impaired-capacity text, according to the same source.
How long must payroll records be kept?
Check North Carolina's payroll record rule before choosing a retention period. For Alaska, according to Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, an employer shall keep payroll information and records for each employee for at least three years. Keep the source name and review date with your retention notes.
Does the 90% rule apply to Washington's 14 and 15-year-old workers?
No. Washington sets a separate youth rate; check the Washington page on its own.
Is the 90% rate a prevailing wage for a public bid?
The apprentice share and the public wage terms are separate checks on the same bid.