# State Finance and Procurement (GSF)

## Title 17. Special Provisions -- State and Local Subdivisions

### Subtitle 2. Prevailing Wage Rates -- Public Work Contracts

#### Section 17-205

(a) A contractor or subcontractor under a public work contract subject to this subtitle:

  (1) shall employ only competent workers and apprentices who qualify under subsection (b) of this section;

  (2) may not employ any individual classified as a helper or trainee; and

  (3) may refuse to employ a worker who is a resident of another state if the Commissioner finds that the other state enforces a law that prohibits a resident of this State from employment as a worker under a public work contract in that state, unless:

    (i) the refusal is in conflict or otherwise inconsistent with a federal law applicable to the public work;

    (ii) the federal government is to pay wholly or partly for the public work; and

    (iii) the inconsistency with federal law jeopardizes the availability of federal funds for the public work.

(b) An apprentice under a public work contract shall be part of and used in accordance with an apprenticeship program that:

  (1) is registered with the Council and approved by the Office of Apprenticeship of the United States Department of Labor; and

  (2) if the program has graduated at least one apprenticeship cohort, has a completion rate of at least 25%, as determined by the Maryland Department of Labor.

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Md. Code Ann., State Fin. & Proc. (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)