Due to the shortage in the DOL workforce and the COVID pandemic, PWD requests are taking longer than usual. Currently, as per processing timelines issued by the DOL on July 31, 2021, it is about 135 – 145 Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) days or 199 Non-OES days.

How long does it take to get prevailing wage determination?

The prevailing wage can take as little as a few weeks to over two months to be determined by the DOL. After that, the employer must run advertisements for the job for at least 30 days before waiting an additional 30 days for potential applicants to respond for a total of at least two more months for recruitment.

Can we do PWD and recruitment in parallel?

Yes, the employer can file the prevailing wage request and begin recruitment at the same time - the risk is that if ay of the recruitment that contains the salary information (i.e., Internal Posting Notice and Job Order) had a salary level below the prevailing wage, then the recruitment will need to be redone.