Davis-Bacon Act

The federal Davis-Bacon and Related Acts govern wage requirements for contractors and subcontractors performing federally funded or assisted contracts in excess of $2,000. Administered through an unscientific and fundamentally flawed survey process by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), these so-called “prevailing” wages hinder economic growth, increase the federal deficit, and impose enormous burdens. Davis-Bacon stifles contractor productivity by raising project costs, and imposes rigid craft work rules that ignore skill differences.

ABC supports full repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act, as well as any state and local prevailing wage laws that mandate wage and benefit rates that do not reflect the current construction market. In the absence of full repeal, ABC also continues to support legislative and regulatory efforts designed to mitigate the Act’s negative effects. ABC opposes expansion of Davis-Bacon into areas of public and private projects in which it has not been previously mandated.

For a summary of studies on the impact of prevailing wage, click here.

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May 17, 2022, ABC submitted a comment letter urging the U.S. Department of Labor to withdraw its proposed rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations:

“The DOL’s proposed rule does little to improve or modernize Davis-Bacon Act regulations in the face of decades of complaints by government officials, taxpayer watchdogs and industry stakeholders critical of this regulatory boondoggle well-known for increasing the cost of construction, discouraging competition from small businesses and diminishing the value of taxpayer investment in government infrastructure projects,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs. “Instead, the proposed rule fails to fix the DOL’s unscientific wage determination process, rescinds modest pro-taxpayer reforms made by the Reagan administration and illegally increases regulatory burdens on small businesses, new industries and more public works projects.

“For years, ABC has called for reforms to confusing DOL red tape and unclear policies which—coupled with a dysfunctional wage determination process—have resulted in a broken system rigged by special interests and sympathetic bureaucrats to help make unionized contractors and union labor more competitive on public works projects,” said Brubeck. “With the Biden administration promoting itself as the most pro-union administration in history, it is little surprise that the DOL missed an opportunity for meaningful regulatory reform and actively made Davis-Bacon Act regulations worse.

“Voters should know this proposed rule could not come at a worse time, as it will exacerbate the inflationary headwinds facing the construction industry—supply chain disruptions, high materials costs and a skilled labor shortage of 650,000—and fail to improve the timeliness and quality of taxpayer-funded construction projects,“ said Brubeck. “This proposal will ultimately result in less value and job creation from taxpayer investment in infrastructure––including the $550 billion of new infrastructure funding via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.”

A final rule is expected as soon as February 2023. Stay tuned for additional updates

Access ABC’s state prevailing wage law research database (Updated June 1, 2021)
State Prevailing Wage Law Research Database

Wage Determinations

Visit Sam.gov, the government website where contractors can obtain government-determined prevailing wage determination (WDs) for contracts subject to the Davis-Bacon Act.

DAVIS-BACON ACT COMPLIANCE INFORMATION

Prevailing Wage Resource Book
Visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division website on Davis-Bacon and Related Acts for guidance, fact sheets, e-tools, posters, forms, guidance and additional resources.

The Prevailing Wage Resource Book was developed by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division as a training tool for use in prevailing wage conferences.

The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division’s Field Operations Handbook includes a chapter with helpful language on the Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act.

Resources:

• ABC’s March 11, 2022, statement in reaction to the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations
• ABC General Counsel Maury Baskin of Littler Mendelson’s summary of the proposed rule
• April 19 ABC members-only webinar, “DOL’s New Davis-Bacon Proposal––What Construction Contractors Need to Know,” recording available in the ABC Academy
• U.S. DOL Davis-Bacon Act Proposed Rule Regulatory Changes Tracker (Updated May 5, 2022)
• Studies on the Negative Impact of Davis-Bacon Act and Prevailing Wage Policies, Updated January 2023
• General Davis-Bacon Act and Prevailing Wage Talking Points, Updated April 2022
• ABC 2021 member survey on the Davis-Bacon Act and prevailing wage laws
• ABC 2022 member survey on the Davis-Bacon Act and DOL proposed rule
• Contact Michael Altman ([email protected]) for help submitting comments in response to the proposed rule’s May 17 comment deadline.
• ABC op-ed on DOL’s proposed rule, Biden Administration’s Davis-Bacon ‘Reforms’ Are More Pork for Labor Unions, May 17, 2022
• ABC press release on ABC’s May 17 comments on the DOL’s proposal
• ABC’s May 17 comment letter to the DOL on its flawed and inflationary Davis-Bacon proposed rule
• Final DOL rule revising Davis-Bacon Act regulations arrives at OMB Dec. 16, ABC Newsline Jan. 11, 2023
• ABC’s State Prevailing Wage Law Map and Research Database, Updated January 2021

Treasury Indicates Additional Inflation Reduction Act Guidance Is Months Away

In a speech delivered on March 22, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, Lily Batchelder, indicated that additional guidance on prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements for Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax credits is months away.

DOL Announces Virtual Seminars on Prevailing Wage Compliance

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recently announced a series of virtual compliance seminars to provide information on prevailing wage requirements for federally funded construction and service contracts. The seminars will include video trainings with corresponding virtual question and answer sessions.

Final Rule Revising Davis-Bacon Regulations Arrives at OMB

On Dec. 16, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor sent its final rule updating Davis-Bacon and Related Acts prevailing wage regulations to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget for review. The content of the final rule is expected to be publicized in February 2023 or later, but will likely align closely with the DOL’s proposed rule. The review at the OIRA is usually the final step in the process before a rule is officially published in the Federal Register.

Roundup: ABC Fights the Biden Administration’s Anti-Merit Shop Regulations

During the last year, the Biden administration pushed to roll back Trump-era initiatives and institute new, pro-union policies that challenge our members’ ability to win work. ABC fought against these proposed rules and regulations affecting merit shop contractors and advocated for open competition and free enterprise.

Treasury and IRS Release Unclear Guidance on IRA Tax Credits, Davis-Bacon and Apprenticeship Requirements

On Nov. 30, the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service released guidance regarding tax credits for private clean energy projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act conditioned on compliance with prevailing wage and government-registered apprenticeship requirements. Treasury and the IRS also released FAQs to provide additional information on the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements.

ABC-Led Coalition Requests Extension on IRS/Treasury Davis-Bacon and Registered Apprenticeship Mandates

On Oct. 31, an ABC-led coalition of 22 construction and energy groups sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service requesting a 60-day extension of the Nov. 4 deadline in response to their request for comments regarding implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. Specifically, the agencies requested comments on Davis-Bacon and government-registered apprenticeship requirements for applicable clean energy construction projects. A previous extension request by ABC has received no response.

Survey Closes Oct. 31: Treasury and IRS Request Comments on IRA Davis-Bacon and Apprenticeship Requirements

On Oct. 5, 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service issued a request for comments regarding implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, notably on Davis-Bacon and apprenticeship requirements. The legislation, opposed by ABC, was signed into law on Aug. 16, 2022, and provides over $369 billion in tax credits for the construction of solar, wind, hydrogen, carbon sequestration, electric vehicle charging stations and other clean energy projects.

ABC Criticizes Proposed Changes to Davis-Bacon Survey Form

On Aug. 15, ABC submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division’s notice of a proposed revision to the Information Collection Request, titled “Report of Construction Contractor’s Wage Rates.” This ICR governs the WD-10 form used in wage surveys to determine the prevailing wage rate under Davis-Bacon and Related Acts requirements.

Analysis: Democrats’ “Inflation Reduction Act” Is a Reckless Tax-and-Spend Bill

ABC opposes Democrats’ partisan reconciliation package, which would raise taxes in an economy pointed toward recession, exacerbate inflation and cost American jobs. New, restrictive labor policies included in the most recent proposal make the package even more damaging.

Biden’s Federal Construction PLA Mandate Rulemaking Imminent

The Biden administration’s controversial rule requiring anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or more is one step closer to being published in the Federal Register for public comments.