Step 2:  Productivity Check (Field Labor Ratio). Next, check your field labor ratio.  This number is your Field Labor Wages divided by your Invoiced Sales.  If you’re comparing it to your budget, just include wage costs – not the costs of labor burden (payroll taxes, safety insurance, etc.). FIELD LABOR WAGES / INVOICED SALES. Managing your productivity is critical for a profitable landscape business and sales-to-field labor expenses is a great way to measure how much production you’re getting for every dollar spent on field wages. MORE >>

was recently reading an article posted on ENR.com about “Prompt Pay&# legislation passed in Arizona. The law itself is modeled after other “prompt pay&# laws used in other states, requiring owners to promptly pay contractors and contractors to pay subcontractors and suppliers soon after being paid themselves. Lets discuss the background of “prompt pay&# law, where they are enforced and Washington’s stance on the issue. What is “prompt pay&# law? What is “prompt pay&# legislation? What states have a similar law? MORE >>

At the same time, federal budget challenges and extra funding from the Obama Administration put more eyes at the US Department of Labor on prevailing wage violations. The first thing you’ll learn about a US Department of Labor Prevailing Wage investigation is that it is confidential. The Department of Labor typically begins an investigation into a company or project after receiving a complaint. Then, the department will request you provide wage documentation and certified payroll, and will begin to interview laborers on the project. Rodriquez, C. Really unfair. MORE >>

No other state in country pays its workers like Washington. Employment & Labor Legislation & Law New Laws highest minimum wage washington labor rates washington minimum wageHigher rates for workers in 2012. Washington has raised the minimum wage yet again. The raise puts Washington over $9.00, the first state in the country to do so. With the raise, Washington remains situated as the reining champion of minimum wage. The wage rate is $9.04 and went into effect on January 1, 2012. Sitting in second is Oregon, at $8.80. MORE >>

The introduction was immediately applauded by the Associated Builders and Contractors , who claim the bill will modify the tax code to help small construction contractors that are facing increased costs in energy, labor and materials. The actual profits it receives may be more or less than this estimate, whereupon the contractor has to alert the IRS of the difference and either get a credit or pay the difference.  Those contractors with less than $10m in revenue can simply wait forthe project to be completed before being obligated to pay taxes on the profits.  MORE >>