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Fire Safety Sealer prevailing wage, Southern California (12 counties)
DIR sets the same fire safety sealer rates, row for row, in 12 counties: Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Every figure on this page applies in each of them.
$67.51an hour, base wage + fringe benefits
$46.60 base wage + $20.91 fringe benefits
On California public works in each of these 12 counties, a fire safety sealer must be paid at least $67.51 an hour in total: $46.60 in wages plus $20.91 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $90.81 and Sunday and holiday work is $160.71.
DIR general determination SC-3-5-4-2026-1, issued August 22, 2026. Expires December 31, 2026. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.
DIR lists 8 fire safety sealer rates for each of these counties, from $38.44 to $67.51 an hour. See all of them.
Base wage and fringe benefits: $46.60 + $20.91
The basic hourly rate is the taxable wage. The other lines, the fringe benefits DIR calls employer payments, are what DIR expects the employer to pay into health, pension and other plans for each hour worked. An employer can pay part of that as extra wages instead, as long as the total per hour stays at $67.51 or more.
| Basic hourly rate (taxable wage) (footnote d) | $46.60 |
| Health and welfare (footnote e) | $11.01 |
| Pension | $8.32 |
| Vacation and holiday | $1.53 |
| Other payments | $0.05 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $67.51 |
Straight time covers an 8-hour day.
When does this rate change?
- A project pays the rates in effect on its bid advertisement date for the life of the job, plus any increase DIR set in advance (DIR FAQ).
- DIR issues new determinations on February 22 and August 22, and they take effect 10 days later. This rate is from determination SC-3-5-4-2026-1, issued August 22, 2026; DIR's expiration date for it is December 31, 2026.
Scheduled increases
DIR has scheduled an increase for this rate, but it's in a regional PDF we haven't matched to this classification yet. The amounts are in DIR's increase file.
The double asterisk after DIR's expiration date means the next rate is already set. If the work runs past that date you have to pay the new rate, and DIR says to build it into contracts signed now (DIR FAQ, Q8).
Source: DIR increase PDF
Every fire safety sealer rate in Southern California
As DIR lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.
- Asbestos Worker, Fire Safety Technician - Class IV (6001 or more hrs)$67.51
- Plumber, Fire Safety Technician - Class IV (6001 or more hrs)Asbestos Worker$66.79
- Asbestos Worker, Fire Safety Technician - Class III (4001-6000 hrs)$59.44
- Plumber, Fire Safety Technician - Class III (4001-6000 hrs)Asbestos Worker$58.76
- Plumber, Fire Safety Technician - Class II (2001-4000 hrs)Asbestos Worker$45.94
- Asbestos Worker, Fire Safety Technician - Class II (2001-4000 hrs)$45.92
- Plumber, Fire Safety Technician - Class I (0-2000 hrs)Asbestos Worker$38.46
- Asbestos Worker, Fire Safety Technician - Class I (0-2000 hrs)$38.44
| Classification | Base wage | Fringe benefits | Total rate | Daily OT | Determination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asbestos Worker, Fire Safety Technician - Class I (0-2000 hrs) | $26.48 | $11.96 | $38.44 | $51.68 | SC-3-5-4-2026-1 |
| Asbestos Worker, Fire Safety Technician - Class II (2001-4000 hrs) | $33.60 | $12.32 | $45.92 | $62.72 | SC-3-5-4-2026-1 |
| Asbestos Worker, Fire Safety Technician - Class III (4001-6000 hrs) | $38.73 | $20.71 | $59.44 | $78.81 | SC-3-5-4-2026-1 |
| Asbestos Worker, Fire Safety Technician - Class IV (6001 or more hrs) | $46.60 | $20.91 | $67.51 | $90.81 | SC-3-5-4-2026-1 |
| Fire Safety and Miscellaneous Sealing: Asbestos Worker: Plumber, Fire Safety Technician - Class I (0-2000 hrs) | $26.86 | $11.60 | $38.46 | $51.89 | SC-204-X-18-2026-1 |
| Fire Safety and Miscellaneous Sealing: Asbestos Worker: Plumber, Fire Safety Technician - Class II (2001-4000 hrs) | $34.34 | $11.60 | $45.94 | $63.11 | SC-204-X-18-2026-1 |
| Fire Safety and Miscellaneous Sealing: Asbestos Worker: Plumber, Fire Safety Technician - Class III (4001-6000 hrs) | $39.29 | $19.47 | $58.76 | $78.41 | SC-204-X-18-2026-1 |
| Fire Safety and Miscellaneous Sealing: Asbestos Worker: Plumber, Fire Safety Technician - Class IV (6001 or more hrs) | $47.32 | $19.47 | $66.79 | $90.45 | SC-204-X-18-2026-1 |
Davis-Bacon fire safety sealer rates in these counties
The counties share DIR's rates, but not always the same federal wage determination. When a California awarding body runs a federally funded or assisted project, DIR's rates must be paid where they are higher than the Davis-Bacon rates (DIR public works FAQ).
| County | Federal classification | Base + fringe | WD | vs DIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County | Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match | |||
| Inyo County | Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match | |||
| Kern County | Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match | |||
| Los Angeles County | Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match | |||
| Mono County | No federal row for this trade | |||
| Orange County | Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match | |||
| Riverside County | Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match | |||
| San Bernardino County | Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match | |||
| San Diego County | Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match | |||
| San Luis Obispo County | Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match | |||
| Santa Barbara County | Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match | |||
| Ventura County | Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match | |||
How Southern California compares
The main fire safety sealer rate in every county that has one, and how the pay splits here and in the nearest counties. All bars use the same scale.
Every county in California
Base wage and fringe benefits, nearby
- Southern Californiabase $46.60$67.51
- Ventura Countybase $46.60$67.51
- Orange Countybase $46.60$67.51
- Kern Countybase $46.60$67.51
Which county is in which fire safety sealer group
Every California county with a fire safety sealer rate. Counties DIR treats alike share one page; the rest have their own. You pay the rate for the county where the work is done, even if your shop is somewhere else.
| Counties | Main classification | Base wage | Total rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern California, 12 counties: Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura | Asbestos Worker, Fire Safety Technician - Class IV (6001 or more hrs) | $46.60 | $67.51 |
1 group of counties with identical DIR rates, and 0 counties with rates of their own.
California fire safety sealer prevailing wage by county, with a map
Footnotes on this rate
DIR's footnotes, in DIR's words. Several change the rate itself: zone pay, a percentage added to the total, or which overtime hours get which rate.
- d Includes an amount per hour worked for Administrative Dues.
- e Includes an amount for Occupational Health and Research.
- a Rate applies to the first 2 daily overtime hours and the first 8 hours worked on Saturday. All other overtime is at the Sunday & Holiday rate.
- b No work shall be performed on Labor Day, except in special cases of extreme emergency and then only when triple (3) times is paid.
- c The 1st man on a job site shall be a Class IV Fire Safety Technician. A Class IV must be on a job site at all times.
DIR's other marks: # means an apprenticeable craft, * means in effect until superseded, ** means the next rate is already set.
More from DIR on this rate
- Holidays (DIR PDF)
- Scope of work: which tasks this rate covers
- Travel and subsistence
Every trade's rates, county by county: Imperial · Inyo · Kern · Los Angeles · Mono · Orange · Riverside · San Bernardino · San Diego · San Luis Obispo · Santa Barbara · Ventura
Are you being paid this rate?
Add your hourly wage to what your employer pays into health, pension and other plans for you, and compare it with $67.51. Plan payments only count if the money goes into the plan; your pay stub won't show them, but plan statements will. The training amount goes to the California Apprenticeship Council or an apprenticeship program, not to you. Check a week of pay.
Contractors on most public works jobs file certified payroll with the state, and anyone can look it up in DIR's CPR public search. If your total comes up short, you can file a public works complaint with the California Labor Commissioner.
Source
California Department of Industrial Relations, general prevailing wage determination SC-3-5-4-2026-1, page 1: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Southern/SC-003-5-4.pdf
Each figure is copied from DIR's file and checked by a second, separate reader. How we check · How to read a determination · Download every California rate as CSV · Report an error