RECAP: Big changes to prevailing wage EFFECTIVE July 1

Our May Membership Meeting brought more than 60 SMACNA Greater Chicago members together for a delicious surf-and-turf lunch at Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse in Oak Brook. Our last meeting before we adjourn for the summer featured labor and employment attorney Christina Wernick of Laner Muchin, who delivered a candid presentation on significant changes to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act that every contractor needs to know about. The big one: HB 2488 now requires that apprentices on prevailing wage projects receive fringe benefits at the full journeyman rate, no matter what your CBA says. That gap can add up to several dollars per hour, per apprentice. And the clock is ticking: July 1, 2026 is the effective date. Wernick outlined two primary compliance paths: adding the benefit differential as cash wages to the apprentice’s paycheck, or — where fund rules allow — making additional contributions directly to benefit funds. Either way, calculations must be done by trade, by county and by agreement. “This has the potential to make life an absolute nightmare for your HR people,” Wernick said.