Glossary
Prevailing wage
A required wage on certain public work, set by a determination, not by the general minimum wage.
Prevailing wage laws, including the federal Davis-Bacon Act and state analogs, set rates for covered work on covered public contracts. The rate comes from a wage determination for a classification and a county. It is not the state minimum wage, and it is not CPI.
A security post or a cleaning contract in a public building might incorporate a determination by reference. The pass-through, if any, has to follow that determination and the markup the customer agreement allows. Substituting the state minimum underbills the wage obligation and misstates the customer price.
RateClause does not assume a prevailing-wage obligation exists because the customer is a school or a city. The contract and the contracting agency's documents either include it or they do not. The finding quotes them.
Where a determination and a CPI escalator both appear, they answer different costs. Do not run both against the same dollars unless both clauses say to.
Related terms
See it used in a worked example · CPI calculator · Request an audit
Sources and limits
Index levels from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, not seasonally adjusted, retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on November 1, 2026. Values are index points, not the headline 12-month percent.
Statewide rates reflect U.S. Department of Labor state minimum-wage postings as updated January 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Note on 2026 increases, and, for the prior-year comparison and named local rates, the National Employment Law Project compilation published in November 2025. Confirm the rate that applies to the workplace before using it in a bill.
The contracts in these worksheets are fictional. The prices are chosen so the arithmetic is easy to check. They are not a price survey and they are not client results.
RateClause is not a law firm. Nothing on this page is legal advice. Your clause controls, including whether a past period can be rebilled at all.
Primary postings: BLS Consumer Price Index, U.S. Department of Labor, state minimum wages, U.S. Department of State notice of 2026 minimum-wage increases.