The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) recently filed proposed permanent ruling on prevailing wage for landscape maintenance. Changes made to prevailing wage laws in 2018 resulted in dramatic cost increases for many job classes, including those related to landscape maintenance.
In March 2019, L&I responded to AWC and other stakeholders’ concerns by adopting an emergency rule that created a new scope of work for landscape maintenance that is unique from landscape construction.
The filed rules define landscape maintenance’s scope of work as “tending to and maintenance of an area of land that has been previously landscaped, when the work is not preparatory to construction.” The new language contains numerous differences from the emergency rule that was filed in March 2019.
L&I is taking public comment until February 10, and a hearing will occur on the same date. AWC plans to file comments, and we urge cities to consider filing comments as well.