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Tennessee state highway rates, TN · Earth Driller
Earth Driller prevailing wage, Tennessee state highway rates
$44.74an hour, wage only · Drill Operator
Wage only; TN Prevailing Wage Commission sets no fringe
On Tennessee state highway, street and bridge projects, an earth driller working as drill operator must be paid at least $44.74 an hour in wages. TN Prevailing Wage Commission sets no fringe amount; fringe benefits and overtime aren't part of this rate.
TN Prevailing Wage Commission, TN-PWC-2026, effective January 1, 2026. Checked on October 25, 2026.
Tennessee's Prevailing Wage Commission sets these 25 rates for state highway, street and bridge construction only, statewide since 2014, effective January 1 to December 31, 2026. Each is a straight-time wage with no fringe. Federal-aid highway jobs also carry the Davis-Bacon highway rates on each county's page.
- Tennessee's highway rate is a straight-time hourly wage only. The survey collects straight-time rates and excludes fringe benefits (Rule 0800-03-02-.08(3)); no fringe amount is set.
A wage rate with no fringe: $44.74
TN Prevailing Wage Commission's survey collects straight-time wages only, and fringe benefits aren't part of the rate. A federal-aid highway job also has the Davis-Bacon highway rate, which includes a fringe; see the county's page.
When does this rate change?
- A contract keeps the wage determination in its bid documents. Modifications published before bid opening apply to it, though one published less than 10 days before can be left out if the agency finds there isn't time to tell bidders (29 CFR 1.6(c)).
- DOL changes a WD by publishing a numbered modification on SAM.gov. This page reads the modification named in the Source line; the Tennessee change log lists what each one changed.
Dated rates for this classification
TN Prevailing Wage Commission prints more than one dated line for Drill Operator (Caisson). The one in force on October 25, 2026 leads this page; scheduled lines take effect on their date.
| Effective | Rate | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2021 | $36.31 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2022 | $37.53 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2023 | $38.56 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2024 | $40.10 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2025 | $43.02 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2026 | $44.74 | Earlier |
| Jan 1, 2026 | $44.74 | In force |
More from TN Prevailing Wage Commission on this rate
- TN Prevailing Wage Commission wage determination
- SAM.gov wage determinations
- Davis-Bacon determinations list journeyworker rates. Apprentices in a program registered with DOL or a recognized state agency can be paid the program's percentage of the rate, within its ratio; anyone else gets the full rate (29 CFR 5.5(a)(4)).
Are you being paid this rate?
Add your base pay to the fringe your employer pays for you, in cash or into plans, and compare the sum with the total. The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division takes complaints: 1-866-487-9243, or dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints.
Source
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (TN Prevailing Wage Commission), wage determination TN-PWC-2026, effective January 1, 2026: www.tn.gov/workforce/employees/labor-laws/labor-laws-redirect/wages-breaks/prevailing-wage.html
We read every active Tennessee Davis-Bacon wage determination from SAM.gov's own data and check every number with a second, independent read of the same file. DOL prints no total; ours is base plus fringe. How we check · Download Tennessee state highway rates as CSV · Report an error