The State of Alaska announced at the end of November that construction workers who work on remote public projects across the state will soon receive higher wages.
According to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, starting on April 11, 2019, eligible workers will get $100 per day for remote projects rather than $75. The per-diem rate for covered workers doing remote projects hasn’t been changed since 2005.
When the previous rate was set in 2005, federal law determined the minimum would be $75, which Alaska adopted for state and local projects. Labor Commissioner Heidi Drygas says this is a needed change, as “a higher daily minimum will help ensure that workers keep the wages they earn while working far from home.”
The $25 higher per-diem applies to remote projects awarded by the state or by a local government. According to the department, “remote” is defined as inaccessible by road or more than 65 miles from the international airports in Juneau, Fairbanks, or Anchorage.
Image at top: file photo: Nome’s Richard Foster Building, under construction in January 2015, with Nome’s Anvil Mountain and White Alice site in the background. Photo: Matthew F. Smith, KNOM.
