# Subdivision 5. Wage Requirements

Codified through Bill No. CB-018-2026, adopted May 12, 2026, effective July 24, 2026. Source: Municode, Supplement 2026 Update 2. Editorial notes and legislative history omitted.

## Subdivision 5. Wage Requirements

### Sec. 10A-144. Wage requirements for County service contracts

Prince George's County, Md., Code § 10A-144 (2026)

(a) Any contract for services by a County agency shall require the contractor and any subcontractor to comply with the wage requirements of this Section. As used in this Section, "covered employer" refers to any contractor or subcontractor that is subject to this Section.

(b) This Section does not apply to:

  (1) A contractor who employs fewer than ten (10) employees at any time the contract is in effect;

  (2) A contractor who, at the time a contract is signed:

    (A) Has received less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) from the County in the most recent twelve (12) month period; and

    (B) Will be entitled to receive less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) from the County in the next twelve (12) month period;

  (3) A contract with a public entity;

  (4) A contract with a nonprofit organization that has qualified for an exemption from federal income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;

  (5) A contract for electricity, telephone, water, sewer, or similar service delivered by a regulated public utility;

  (6) A contract for services needed immediately to prevent or respond to an imminent threat to public health or safety;

  (7) An employer to the extent that the employer is expressly precluded from complying with this Section by the terms of any federal, state or County law, federal or state contract or grant; or

  (8) A contract entered into under a participation agreement under Section 10A-141.

(c) Solicitation requirements.

  (1) Each bid or proposal to provide services to the County shall specify how the contractor and each subcontractor will comply with these wage requirements, and shall include sufficient funds to meet these requirements.

  (2) Each bid or proposal to provide services to the County which is submitted by an organization that is exempt from coverage under Subsection (b)(4) shall specify the wage the organization intends to pay to those employees who will perform direct, measurable work under the contract, and any health insurance the organization intends to provide to those employees. In evaluating the cost of a bid or proposal the County shall disregard any additional cost attributable to payment of the wage requirements of this Section by any organization that is exempt from coverage under Subsection (b)(4) when compared to a bid or proposal submitted by another organization that is also exempt from coverage under Subsection (b)(4).

  (3) A contractor shall not split or subdivide a contract, pay an employee through a third party, or treat an employee as a subcontractor or independent contractor, to avoid the imposition of any requirement under this Section.

(d) Health insurance. If a contractor or subcontractor commits in its bid or proposal to provide health insurance to any employee who provides services to the County, the contractor or subcontractor may:

  (1) Certify in its bid or proposal the per-employee hourly cost of the employer's share of the premium for that insurance; and

  (2) Reduce the wage paid under Subsection (e) to any employee covered by the insurance by all or part of the per-employee hourly cost of the employer's share of the premium.

(e) Wage requirement.

  (1) Except as permitted under Subsection (d)(2), each covered employer shall pay each employee who is not exempt under Subsection (f) at least Ten Dollars and Fifty Cents ($10.50) per hour during the time the employee actually provides services to the County.

  (2) The Wage Determination Board shall adjust the wage rate required under this subsection, effective July 1 of each year, by the annual average increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area, or any successor index, for the previous calendar year. The Wage Determination Board shall calculate the adjustment to the nearest multiple of Five Cents ($.05), and shall publish the amount of this adjustment not later than March 1 of each year. Each adjustment under this paragraph applies to any contract covered by this Section which:

    (A) Is in effect when the adjustment takes effect; or

    (B) Takes effect during the next twelve (12) months.

(f) The wage requirements of this Section do not apply to any employee:

  (1) Who performs no measurable work related to any contract with the County;

  (2) Who participates in a government-operated or -sponsored program that restricts the earnings of or wages paid to employees to a level below the wage required under this Section;

  (3) Who participates for no longer than one hundred and twenty (120) days in any calendar year in a government-operated or -sponsored summer youth employment program; or

  (4) For whom a lower rate is expressly set in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement.

(g) Enforcement.

  (1) The Purchasing Agent shall require each covered employer to:

    (A) Certify that the employer and each subcontractor is aware of and will comply with the applicable wage requirements of this Section;

    (B) Keep and submit any records necessary to show compliance; and

    (C) Conspicuously post notices informing employees of the requirements of this Section, and send a copy of each notice to the Purchasing Agent.

  (2) The Purchasing Agent shall enforce this Section, perform random audits and any other audit necessary to do so, and investigate any complaint of a violation.

  (3) An employer must not discharge or otherwise retaliate against an employee for asserting any right under this Section or filing a complaint of a violation. Any retaliation is subject to all sanctions for noncompliance with this Section.

  (4) Each contract shall specify that liquidated damages for any noncompliance with this Section includes the amount of any unpaid wages, with interest, and that the contractor is jointly and severally liable for any noncompliance by a subcontractor. In addition, each contract shall specify that an aggrieved employee, as a third-party beneficiary, may by civil action enforce the payment of wages due under this Section and recover any unpaid wages with interest, a reasonable attorney's fee, and damages for any retaliation for asserting any right under this Section.