Wage Determination (288) is used to communicate prevailing wage rates and related employment conditions. Government agencies, prevailing wage authorities, or wage determination administrators typically send this transaction to contractors, subcontractors, and employers who must comply with wage regulations. It may be transmitted in response to a request for current wage rates or as a periodic update of prevailing wage determinations. The transaction uses the BGN (Beginning Segment) to establish the wage determination context, the N1 Loop (Name) to identify the parties and geographic jurisdictions affected, and the LX Loop (Assigned Number) within the detail section to organize individual wage determinations by line item, each potentially covering different occupational classifications or geographic areas.

For example, the U.S. Department of Labor might send a Wage Determination 288 to ABC Construction Company detailing the prevailing wages required for a new federal highway project. The document identifies ABC Construction as the recipient through the N1 segment, specifies the project location (such as Cook County, Illinois) in the geographic information, and uses the LX Loop to list each wage determination line item—perhaps showing that Laborers must earn a minimum of $48.50 per hour, Carpenters $52.75 per hour, and Heavy Equipment Operators $55.00 per hour. Each occupational classification includes the LQ (Industry Code) segment referencing the applicable skill code, the AMT (Monetary Amount) segment showing the wage rate, and supporting QTY and NTE segments providing hours and special conditions ABC Construction must observe.