The short and to the point answer is “maybe”. Determining factors that tip the scale are how the “site of the job” is defined for the project, whether or not the driver’s actions while on the job site are contributing to the project’s completion, the driver’s employment status (employee / subcontractor / owner operator), and the governing authority’s requirements. Assuming the question pertains to a contractor’s own employees, here are some considerations for a truck driver making deliveries:
“Site of the project”
“Site of the project” is generally considered to be the physical place or places where the construction called for in the contract will remain when work on it has been completed, as well as other adjacent or nearby property used by the contractor or subcontractor in such construction. This includes fabrication plants, mobile factories, batch plants, borrow pits, job headquarters, and tool yards, provided they are dedicated exclusively, or nearly so, to performance of the contract or project, and are located in proximity to the actual construction location that it would be reasonable to include them. Locations whose continuance of operation are determined without regard to a particular public work contract or project, to include permanent home offices, branch plant establishments, fabrication plants, and tool yards, are not included in “site of the project”. Transportation of materials on the “site of the project” by employees of contractors or subcontractors for use at the “site of the project” are covered by prevailing wage requirements. Transportation of materials to the “site of the project”, if from a location that is not deemed “site of the project” may not be subject to prevailing wage requirements.
“De minimis” time
While transporting materials or supplies to (not on) the “site of the project”, if the driver’s time on site is not more than “de minimis”, then prevailing wage is not required. While “de minimis” is not explicitly defined in the Federal Register, “the Department does not assert coverage for material delivery truckdrivers (sic) who come onto the site of the work for only a few minutes at a time merely to drop off construction materials” (“Labor Standards Provisions Applicable to Contracts Covering Federally Financed and Assisted Construction, Final Rule.” Federal Register 65:245, (20 December 2000) p. 80276). This also assumes that the driver is in no way aiding in the completion of the project, for then, in effect, the driver is becoming a “mechanic” or a “laborer”. Examples of aiding in a project’s completion (perhaps requiring the payment of prevailing wage) would be tailgating gravel, spending more than a minimal period of time on site merely to place material at different locations, or erecting scaffold being delivered by a rental company.
