Construction Claim Rules in Wyoming

Statutory interest rate

7% / year, fixed (pre-judgment, contract silent); 10% / year, fixed (post-judgment, unless contract rate applies)

Where a construction contract doesn't specify its own rate, the general Wyoming legal rate of 7% per year governs prejudgment interest. Postjudgment interest is instead fixed at 10% per year, running from the date of judgment, unless the judgment is founded on a contract where all parties agreed to a specific rate, in which case that contractual rate applies instead of 10%. Some non-primary sources describe only the 10% postjudgment figure without distinguishing the separate, lower 7% prejudgment rate; make sure to apply the correct one.

Compounding: Simple; neither statute states a compounding mechanism.

Citation: Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-14-106(e) (prejudgment); Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-16-102(a) (postjudgment)

Source: https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-1/chapter-16/article-1/section-1-16-102/

Accrual: breach of contract claim

Only on liquidated claims: from when the amount became easily ascertainable without discretion

Wyoming allows prejudgment interest only on liquidated claims, meaning the amount at issue is easily ascertainable and can be computed without reliance on opinion or discretion. Once a construction-contract debt becomes fixed in amount, interest runs from that point; a claim that instead requires a fact-finder's discretionary judgment call (such as a reasonableness-based fee award) does not qualify.

Citation: Thorkildsen v. Belden LLC, 2012 WY 21

Source: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/wy-supreme-court/1591805.html

Accrual: property damage / tort claim

The same liquidated claim test applies; Wyoming draws no separate contract and tort distinction here

Wyoming's 'ascertainable without discretion' test for prejudgment interest is stated as a general rule, not one limited to contract claims, so a property-damage claim with an amount fixed by facts and figures (e.g., repair costs) should qualify on the same basis. No Wyoming case reviewed applied the test squarely to a construction-related property-damage claim, so this is an extension by reasoning rather than a directly on-point holding.

Citation: Thorkildsen v. Belden LLC, 2012 WY 21

Source: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/wy-supreme-court/1591805.html

No Wyoming case applies the test squarely to a construction property damage claim, so this is the general doctrine applied by reasoning. Verify before relying on it in a disputed claim.

Actual Cash Value rule

No Wyoming authority directly addresses ACV computation for property-insurance claims (including whether labor/GCOP is depreciable); Wyoming does have general personal-property valuation case law (market value / intrinsic value), but not specifically an insurance ACV formula.

Wyoming has no case, statute or rule addressing how ACV is calculated for an insurance claim, including whether general contractor overhead and profit may be depreciated, though the Wyoming Supreme Court has indicated it reads contractual ACV provisions consistently with other jurisdictions. For general personal property loss, which is a different question, Wyoming measures damages by fair market value or, where no market value can be established, intrinsic value to the owner.

Citation: Broyles v. Broyles, 711 P.2d 1119 (Wyo. 1985); Shikany v. Salt Creek Transp. Co., 45 P.2d 645 (Wyo. 1935) (general personal-property valuation, not insurance-specific).

Source: https://www.mwl-law.com/state/wyoming/

The personal property valuation cases are context rather than authority on an insurance ACV calculation.

ACV statute or regulation

No Wyoming statute defines the ACV computation formula; Wyoming has adopted the general Unfair Claims Settlement Practices framework (Wyo. Stat. § 26-13-124), but ACV computation itself is left to policy language and case law.

Wyoming has adopted the general unfair claims settlement practices framework at Wyo. Stat. § 26-13-124 and chapter 33 of its rules, covering claims handling conduct such as prompt investigation and good faith settlement. No Wyoming statute defines how actual cash value or depreciation is calculated for a property claim, so that is left to the policy language and case law.

Citation: Wyo. Stat. § 26-13-124 (general unfair-claims-practices framework, not an ACV-computation formula).

Source: https://uphelp.org/claim-guidance-publications/insurance-consumer-rights-in-the-state-of-wyoming-2022/

Recoverable depreciation holdback

No Wyoming statute or regulation sets holdback release timing, so the policy terms control.

No Wyoming statute or regulation governs the timing or process for paying withheld recoverable depreciation. Consumer sources note that Wyoming insurers have been converting older roofs to ACV coverage at renewal without the kind of statutory protection some other states provide, which is consistent with the absence of a rule here. With no statute in play the policy is the whole of the law here, so read three things in it: what proof of completed repairs the insurer can require, how long the insured has to claim the withheld depreciation and whether that period can be extended in writing. Policy deadlines commonly run from 180 days to two years from the date of loss and they are enforced as written. Ask for the extension before the period runs rather than after.

Source: https://www.roofingstormdamage.com/roofing/wyoming

“No damages for delay” clause enforceability

Unresolved: the one Wyoming case on point held the clause in question was not actually a no-damages-for-delay provision

Wyoming courts interpret contracts to effectuate the parties' intent as expressed in the contract language. In the one case located addressing a claimed no-damages-for-delay provision, the Wyoming Supreme Court found the clause at issue did not actually function as a no-damages-for-delay clause on its specific facts and so did not bar the contractor's recovery; the court did not need to reach and did not decide, how a genuine no-damages-for-delay clause would be treated under Wyoming law.

Citation: City of Gillette v. Hladky Constr., Inc., 2008 WY 134, 196 P.3d 184, 200 (Wyo. 2008)

Source: https://www.woodsaitken.com/sites/default/files/Survey_50-State-Matrix_Pay-If-Paid_No-Damage-for-Delay.pdf

Because that clause was not treated as a genuine no-damages-for-delay provision, Wyoming's treatment of one remains an open question. Do not read the case as settling enforceability either way. The holding here comes from a summary rather than the opinion.

Construction contract filing deadline

10 years for a written contract claim

Wyoming's limitations period for a civil action other than for the recovery of real property, founded upon a contract in writing, is 10 years from accrual, covering an ordinary written construction-contract claim. Two deadlines sit in front of that one on most construction claims. A mechanic's lien and a payment bond claim each run on their own, far shorter clock, counted from last furnishing rather than from breach and missing either one removes the security while leaving the contract claim alive but unsecured. Check those dates first. Accrual is the other half of the question: the period runs from breach, which on a payment dispute is usually the date payment came due rather than the date the work was done.

Citation: Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-3-105(a)(i)

Source: https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-1/chapter-3/section-1-3-105/

State unemployment insurance (SUTA)

Wyoming's 2026 taxable wage base is $33,800. New-employer rates run roughly 2.28% to 9.78% by industry (an all-in figure including annual adjustment factors); experience-rated employers fall on a base-rate cap of 0.09% to 8.50%, with the same adjustment factors added on top.

The Department of Workforce Services publishes the taxable wage base, $33,800 for 2026, up from $32,400 in 2025. It does not publish rate bands publicly, since it assigns rates to individual employers directly. Reported figures put new-employer rates at roughly 2.28% to 9.78% by industry, as an all-in number including annual adjustment factors, with experience-rated employers on base rates of 0.09% to 8.50% before those factors.

Citation: Wyo. Stat. Ann. Section 27-3-501 et seq.

Source: https://dws.wyo.gov/dws-division/unemployment-insurance/wyui/unemployment-taxable-wage-base/

Last checked: 2026-08-26

Wyoming does not post a public rate table, so the only reliable figure for a given employer is the rate the Unemployment Tax Division assigns it.

Workers' compensation rating

Wyoming is a monopolistic workers' compensation state. Most employers must obtain coverage through the state fund administered by the Workers' Safety and Compensation Division; a narrow set of exempt employers may use private insurers.

Wyoming is a monopolistic state. Most covered employers must buy workers' compensation through the state fund run by the Workers' Safety and Compensation Division within the Department of Workforce Services rather than from a private carrier. A limited set of employers outside Wyoming's mandatory coverage requirements may buy from private insurers, which is the exception rather than the rule.

Citation: Wyo. Stat. Ann. Section 27-14-101 et seq.

Source: https://doi.wyo.gov/consumers/workers-comp

Prevailing wage law

Wyoming requires prevailing hourly wages on public works construction contracts over $100,000, applying only to workers directly engaged in on-site construction work.

Wyoming Statute Section 27-4-403 requires that employees directly engaged in construction work on the site of a public building or construction job be paid not less than the prevailing hourly rate of wages for similar work in the locality. The U.S. Department of Labor's summary of state prevailing wage laws lists Wyoming's threshold at $100,000. The law excludes indirect and maintenance workers and provides reduced-wage tiers for registered trainees and apprentices at various stages of completion, subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Labor or the Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration.

Citation: Wyo. Stat. Ann. Section 27-4-401 et seq.

Source: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/prevailing-wages

Comparative / contributory negligence rule

Modified comparative fault, recovery barred above 50% fault (51% bar)

Recovery is reduced in proportion to fault and barred once the worker is more than 50% at fault. A worker exactly 50% at fault still recovers half.

Citation: Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-1-109(b); § 1-1-109(a)(i) (definition of 'actor')

Source: https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-1/chapter-1/section-1-1-109

Verified against: statute text of Wyo. Stat. Ann. s 1-1-109

Non-economic damages cap

No general cap on non-economic damages

Most states cap non-economic damages only in medical malpractice actions, which does not reach a third-party construction claim. Economic losses, medical bills, lost wages, future earning capacity, are not capped by these statutes.

OSHA plan

Full state plan, private + public sector

Wyoming operates an OSHA-approved state plan covering most private-sector workers and all state and local government workers. A state plan must be at least as effective as federal OSHA and may set stricter standards, so check the state rule before assuming the federal text applies. Two practical consequences follow. A state plan covers state and local government employees, which federal OSHA does not, so a public works injury is inside the state agency's jurisdiction. Citations are issued by the state agency and contested before the state's own review body rather than the federal commission, which changes where the file lives when you go looking for it. Reporting deadlines follow the federal rule: a work-related fatality within 8 hours, an inpatient hospitalisation, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours. For a construction claim the inspection file matters more than the citation: photographs, measurements, witness statements and the inspector's narrative are usually obtainable and are often the best contemporaneous record of the site.

Citation: 29 U.S.C. § 667

Source: https://www.osha.gov/stateplans

Weight of an OSHA violation in a negligence case

Confirmed evidence, not negligence per se (direct Wyoming Supreme Court citation)

The Wyoming Supreme Court held OSHA violations are evidence, not conclusive proof, of negligence. Evidence rather than negligence per se means the violation goes to the jury as one fact among several. The worker still proves duty, breach, causation and damages in the ordinary way and the defendant can argue the standard did not apply to it, that the cited condition did not cause this injury, or that the citation was contested or withdrawn. The reverse is also true: compliance with OSHA is not a defence, since the standards are a floor rather than a definition of reasonable care.

Citation: Poulos v. HPC, Inc., 765 P.2d 364, 366 (Wyo. 1988)

Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/wyoming/supreme-court/1988/122006.html

Third-party contribution against the employer

Wyoming extends immunity to qualifying statutory employers, not just the direct employer.

A party that does not qualify as a statutory employer is reached through independent duty, premises control, notice, retained control or product defect theories. Brewster v. Salveson Construction is the Wyoming case on point, a subcontractor's employee injured on a state project suing the general contractor.

Citation: Wyo. Stat. §§27-14-101 et seq.; Brewster v. Salveson Constr., Inc., 765 P.2d 1350 (Wyo. 1988).

Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/wyoming/supreme-court/1988/122047.html

Injury-severity gate on contribution claims

General employer and statutory employer immunity under §§ 27-14-101 et seq.

Wyo. Stat. §§ 27-14-101 et seq. give the employer and qualifying statutory employers immunity. Confirm the current piercing exceptions directly before relying on one. In practice exclusivity takes the direct employer off the tort table entirely, whatever the OSHA file shows. The claim runs against the other parties on the site: the general contractor, the owner, another subcontractor, an equipment manufacturer. The employer or its carrier then asserts a lien against whatever the worker recovers from those parties, so the figure the worker actually keeps is the recovery less the lien, the fee and the costs. Whether the lien is reduced for the cost of obtaining the recovery is a separate state question worth asking early, because it moves the net more than most people expect.

Citation: Wyo. Stat. §§27-14-101 et seq.; Brewster v. Salveson Constr., Inc., 765 P.2d 1350 (Wyo. 1988).

Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/wyoming/supreme-court/1988/122047.html

Distinctive state doctrine

A general contractor that pays a defaulting subcontractor's workers' compensation premiums becomes the statutory employer and gains immunity

Under Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-206(e) a general contractor that subcontracts all or part of a contract stays responsible for workers' compensation premiums if the subcontractor fails to pay them. A general contractor that actually pays those premiums gains exclusive-remedy immunity as the statutory employer while keeping the right to recover the premiums from the subcontractor. Whether a general contractor can recover increased premium costs from a negligent third party is undecided in Wyoming.

Citation: Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-206(e).

Source: https://www.mwl-law.com/state/wyoming/