The public authority shall, before advertising for bids for a public contract, ascertain from the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards the fair minimum rate of wages and benefits to be paid by the successful bidder to the laborers, workers or mechanics employed in the performance of the contract. A schedule of minimum wages and benefits must be attached to and made a part of the specifications for the construction and must be included in the bidding documents. The "fair minimum rate of wages and benefits," for the intent and purposes of sections 1304 to 1313, is the prevailing wage and benefits paid in the locality in like construction. The director or a delegated member of that bureau shall assemble the data as to wages paid by contractors employing 5 or more construction workers in the State during the 2nd and 3rd week of September of each year. From these data, the fair minimum wage and benefits for the following calendar year must be determined by the director. Minimum wages and benefits may not be established for any trade or occupation if fewer than 10 workers are employed in such a trade or occupation in the State in the 2nd and 3rd week of September.   [PL 1997, c. 757, §5 (AMD).]

The minimum wage and benefits must be established and filed as requested by the public authority within 30 days after such a request is received by the director. No minimum wage may be determined until January 1, 1968 and does not apply to the construction of public works then underway. When fair minimum wage and benefit rates are included and made a part of any contract, the rate must remain unchanged during the time the contract is in effect.   [PL 1997, c. 757, §5 (AMD).]