In Glacier Nw., Inc. v. Dep’t of Lab. & Indus., 32 Wn. App. 2d 189, 201, 555 P.3d 896 (2024), a recent published decision from Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals, the Court held a public works contractor’s obligation to pay prevailing wages does not necessarily end at the jobsite. Instead, if the work is contractually required and integral to the public works project, contractors may still have an obligation to pay prevailing wages—even if that work takes place off-site.

Offsite Quarry Workers Sought Prevailing Wages
In 2010, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) contracted with Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct on SR99 with an underground tunnel. Thereafter, STP subcontracted Glacier Northwest, Inc (Glacier) to manage, handle, store, and dispose of tunnel spoils—clean soil excavated from the SR99 site—at Glacier’s Mats Mats quarry near Port Ludlow, Washington. The spoils were transported from the SR99 site to Mats Mats by barge by a separate contractor.