Lawmakers in a number of states have made reforming outdated prevailing wage laws a major priority so far in 2015. In the past month, legislators in West Virginia, Nevada and Indiana have advanced legislation that attempts to narrow the types of construction projects affected by prevailing wage, and in some cases, to remove the law entirely. 

During his first State of the State address on Feb. 2, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) called for reforms related to project labor agreements (PLAs) and prevailing wage requirements that will help empower Illinois residents and drive economic growth.

On July 31, President Obama issued a sweeping Executive Order (EO) that instructs bureaucrats at federal agencies to determine whether a business is “responsible” enough to receive a federal contract based on a subjective review of each company’s recent compliance history with labor and safety laws.  

ABC today celebrated an important decision limiting the scope of the Davis-Bacon Act issued by a U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  In a March 31 decision granting summary judgment to the District of Columbia (the District) and private developer CCDC Office LLC (CCDC), Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) unprecedented ruling that the Davis-Bacon Act can be expanded to include privately funded projects.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced a series of Prevailing Wage Seminars for 2014 that will allow attendees to learn more about the Davis-Bacon Act, the process of obtaining wage determinations and adding classification, how to comply, the process of appealing wage rates and more. 

In response to the House-Senate Conference meeting on the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (H.R. 3080) and the Water Resources Development Act (S. 601), ABC Jan. 7 sent a letter to members of Congress thanking them for recognizing the importance of our nation’s water infrastructure and for moving forward with the first Water Resource Reauthorization bill since 2007. However, ABC also expressed concern that the proposed Senate bill would expand Davis Bacon requirements and exclude a public-private partnership (P3s) program.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), along with several other trade associations, Dec. 18 sent a letter expressing serious concern over the White House’s nominee to lead DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), David Weil. Weil’s advocacy positions and lack of relevant job experience were cited as evidence that he would be unable to impartially enforce critical federal wage and hour laws governing the workplace.

According to a recent study by the Lansing, Mich.-based Anderson Economic Group (AEG), Michigan’s prevailing wage law costs taxpayers and the state’s public schools millions each year in higher construction costs—adding up to more than 315 elementary school buildings that could have been built in the past decade with the money lost to prevailing wages.

ABC of California expressed their concern and opposition for two bills signed into law Oct. 13 by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) that will expand prevailing wage requirements and drive up the costs of local public and private projects.

After Thomas E. Perez was sworn in as the new Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) July 23, ABC sent a letter congratulating him on his confirmation and asking him to consider ABC’s concerns regarding DOL initiatives.