Oregon Prevailing Wage on Final Cleans: What GCs Must Check

RKA Cleaning does the final clean on commercial builds and tenant improvements in the Portland metro, as a sub to the GC. This post is for the GC or project manager with an Oregon public works bid. On a covered project, the final clean is priced at the BOLI prevailing wage rate, not the market rate. If you’re bidding one, here’s where the rule touches the cleaning scope and what to get from your cleaning sub before the first shift.

When prevailing wage reaches the final clean

Oregon prevailing wage law is ORS 279C.800 to 279C.870, and BOLI enforces it. The law covers the project, not a trade. On a covered public works project every contractor and subcontractor pays the published rate, and the cleaning sub is a subcontractor.

Copy this table into the bid file. The Copy table button pastes it into Excel or Google Sheets.

One 2025 change matters here. SB 426 (Oregon Laws 2025 chapter 287) makes the owner and the direct contractor jointly and severally liable for unpaid wages owed to unrepresented employees of any subcontractor at any tier. That includes the cleaning sub’s crew.

Sources: the BOLI prevailing wage page and the ORS 279C text.

Which prevailing wage rate applies: Laborer Group 4

BOLI’s PWR Occupational Definitions, effective July 5, 2026, list “Final Cleanup” under Laborer Group 4. That covers cleaning the ceilings, floors, walls and windows of a building after construction is complete. General site cleanup while construction is still going on is Laborer Group 1.

BOLI classifies by the work performed, not the job title. A crew member called a “janitor” who cleans the windows of a new building is a Laborer Group 4 for those hours. A rough clean before paint and a final clean after paint can fall under different groups, and if the sub’s records don’t split the hours, the sub pays the higher rate for all of them. RKA’s check-in and check-out logs record who worked and when.

The rate is a base hourly wage plus an hourly fringe amount. The sub can pay the fringe in cash, into a benefit plan, or a mix, as long as the total reaches the published rate (ORS 279C.840(1)), and must post the rates on site (ORS 279C.840(4)). Pull the Group 4 numbers from the rate book in force on the first advertisement date, not the current book, because the two often differ.

Ask every cleaning bidder to name the classification and the rate book date on the quote. A bidder who can’t name either hasn’t read the rule.

What a GC must collect from the cleaning sub

Copy this table into the sub file and fill in the date each document arrives.

Cleaning is not contractor work under ORS 701.005(5), so a final-clean sub doesn’t carry a CCB license. The Public Works Bond still gets filed with the CCB. It’s also separate from the bond a cleaning company carries for client property, so ask for both.

The GC’s exposure if the cleaning sub underpays

The GC holds 25% of a first-tier sub’s earned amount until the sub files certified statements, then pays it within 14 days (ORS 279C.845(8)). A contractor or sub that fails to pay the rate owes the unpaid wages plus an equal amount as liquidated damages (ORS 279C.855(1)). Under SB 426, a claimant gives 21 days’ written notice to fix it first, the claim runs for 2 years from when the wages came due, and no contract term can waive or indemnify that liability away. So if the cleaning sub shorts its crew, the bill can land on you.

Ask the sub for a copy of each certified payroll filing. A copy in your file closes the retainage row.

How an RKA crew runs a public job final clean

Final clean is the CSI MasterFormat 01 74 23 pass before certificate of occupancy. This is the order we work it.

1. RKA walks the site with the GC super, usually in about 20 minutes, and sends the written scope and the COI the same day.
2. Each crew member signs in on site.
3. High work first: ceilings, light fixtures, diffusers and the tops of door frames, so dust doesn’t land on finished surfaces.
4. Walls, doors, hardware, switch plates, glass and mirrors.
5. Restrooms, break rooms and casework, inside every cabinet and drawer.
6. Floors last: HEPA vacuum, then a wet pass matched to each floor type.
7. Each crew member signs out. The PM gets the punch-out checklist, timestamped photos, photos of items the trades still need to fix, and the hours per person, the same hours the certified payroll reports.
8. After the GC punch list, RKA responds the same day or the next business day and re-cleans missed items at no charge. See the guarantee terms.

Rough clean, final clean and punch-out re-clean scopes are on the post-construction cleaning page, with Tigard notes for Washington County jobs.

How we price a prevailing wage final clean

RKA doesn’t quote over the phone. We walk the site, then send a written quote based on the measured square footage and the finish level.

Prevailing wage changes one line, labor. On a covered job, labor is billed at the BOLI rate plus fringe for Laborer Group 4, and the quote states the rate book date. At market rates, our Portland cleaning rates guide lists $55-$90 an hour for specialty work like post-construction. We don’t print a prevailing wage range because it depends on the rate book for your project.

Large glass areas, high ceilings, lift work, many floor types, a long haul to the dumpster and repeat re-cleans after trades come back all push the number up. Night and weekend work adds overtime under ORS 279C.540: time and a half past 8 hours a day or 40 a week on a 5-day schedule (10 hours a day on a 4-day schedule), and for all Saturday, Sunday and legal holiday hours, unless a collective bargaining agreement applies. Having the same crew do the rough clean, a single mobilization and a firm CO date bring it down.

Quotes include labor, supplies, equipment and insurance.

Why RKA fits a public job

• Woman-owned and owner-operated, in business since 2020.
• Zero missed cleanings since 2020.
• $1M/$2M general liability, bonded, with workers’ compensation in Oregon and Washington.
• Background-checked crews whose sign-in logs back up the certified payroll.

We cover the Portland metro. See commercial cleaning in Portland.

FAQ

Does final clean fall under prevailing wage in Oregon?

Yes, when the project is covered public works under ORS 279C.800(6). That includes a project a public agency contracts for, a project using $750,000 or more in public funds, and a private project a public agency will occupy 25% or more of. A project with a contract price of $50,000 or less is exempt (ORS 279C.810(2)(a)). On a covered project every subcontractor pays the rate, including the cleaning sub.

What prevailing wage rate applies to construction cleanup in Oregon?

BOLI lists “Final Cleanup” under Laborer Group 4 in the PWR Occupational Definitions effective July 5, 2026. The base rate plus fringe comes from the rate book in force on the first advertisement date, so ask the public agency for that date before you price the work.

Does a cleaning subcontractor need a public works bond in Oregon?

Yes. Under ORS 279C.836 each subcontractor on a covered project files a $30,000 Public Works Bond with the CCB before work starts. A sub can elect not to file when the contract price is $100,000 or less, or for up to 4 years after certification under ORS 200.055. The GC must verify the filing or the election before the sub starts.

How much does a final clean cost on a prevailing wage job?

At market labor rates, RKA’s published range for specialty work like post-construction is $55-$90 an hour. On a covered job, labor moves to the BOLI rate plus fringe for Laborer Group 4, so RKA quotes after a walkthrough and states the rate book date on the quote.

Send the scope and the CO date

Send RKA the scope, the first advertisement date and the CO date. We send the COI the same day and a written quote after the walkthrough. Get a free quote, call (971) 600-0752, or email [email protected].