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Executive Order #108

General Information

Contractors who employ five (5) or more craft workers and who work on Wisconsin's state-funded construction projects are required to comply with the apprenticeship requirements outlined in State Executive Order #108 (EO108). Compliance language is built in to state contracts for projects that are awarded by Wisconsin's Department of Administration (DOA contract's General Provisions Article 34) and Department of Transportation (DOT contract's ASP1, item V). 

EO108 states that "no contracts are awarded for construction work performed on state-owned projects in Wisconsin unless the contractor is currently approved as a Wisconsin Trade Trainer or has applied for approval as an Apprenticeship Trade Trainer to the Department of Workforce Development and agrees to an acceptable apprenticeship program which includes specific ratios of apprentices in skills trades which have been determined as apprenticeable by the Department of Workforce Development." 

Contractor Compliance

To determine whether contractors operate an acceptable apprenticeship program, information about the contractors’ total skilled workforce OR project-specific skilled workforce is reviewed by the Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards (BAS). Contractors may choose which compliance method works better for them.  However, BAS urges all contractors to first examine their total skilled workforce, because it may qualify the contractor to be pre-certified as compliant with EO108 for a one-year period.

Compliance using Total Skilled Workforce

The number of apprentices a contractor employs, in comparison with the total skilled workforce over the past 12 months is reviewed to determine a contractor’s total skilled workforce. The total workforce determination is a "point-in-time" determination. Contractors are in compliance if, at any point during the past 12 months, it can be verified that:

• The contractor employed apprentices at the applicable trade's maximum ratio; or

• Apprentices comprised a prescribed percentage of the contractor's skilled workforce (10% for DOA; 5% DOT)

Contractors who meet compliance in this manner will be pre-certified as compliant with EO #108 for one year from the approval date and will not need to provide Project-Specific Workforce information (described below). Wisconsin Trade Trainers who are pre-certified as compliant will not be asked for workforce information again during the certification period.

Compliance using Project-specific Workforce

Contractors who are not able to confirm compliance through examination of total skilled workforce (described above) will be required to submit project-specific compliance information. There are three alternatives to confirm project-specific compliance, all of which require the submission of payroll records:

• A prescribed percentage of the project's contract hours will be performed by existing apprentices (10% for DOA projects, 5% for DOT projects); or

• The contractor employs existing apprentices on the project at the maximum ratio applicable for each trade; or

• the contractor’s hiring schedule for the project will achieve the maximum apprentice-to-journeyworker ratio for the trade. The first "new hire" for the project must be an apprentice and subsequent hiring can be journeyworkers, within ratio limits, until the contractor employs the maximum number of apprentices allowed by the trade's prescribed ratio.

Contractor Exemption

There may be situations that allow for contractors/subcontractors to be exempt from compliance with EO 108. Requests for exemption are reviewed on a contract by contract basis and must be made in writing to BAS. Exemption reasons include:

• The project, as a whole, does not meet the minimum cost thresholds for prevailing wage determinations under Chapter 66 of the Wisconsin Statutes; or
• The contracted work being performed is not considered apprenticeable in the state of Wisconsin; or
• The contractor/subcontractor provides sufficient documentation to demonstrate one or more of the following:

• apprentices are not available in a specific geographic area; or

• the applicable apprenticeship program is unsuitable or unavailable; or

• there is a disproportionately high ratio of material costs to labor hours exists for the project; or

• there is a documented depression of the local construction market which prevents compliance; or

• there are specific safety or certification considerations which prevent compliance; or

• Specific EEO or other legal workforce participation requirements prevent compliance.