On Oct. 23, the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations, officially took effect. The regulation imposes drastic revisions to previous rules regarding government-determined prevailing wage rates that must be paid to construction workers on federal and federally assisted construction projects funded by taxpayers.

ABC issued a statement opposing the new rule, stating:

“This is yet another Biden administration handout to organized labor on the backs of taxpayers, small businesses and the free market,” said ABC Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck. “Unfortunately, the DOL’s final rule disregards the feedback of ABC contractors, construction industry stakeholders and thousands of small businesses urging the withdrawal of this unnecessary, costly and burdensome regulation.” 

All contracts entered into after Oct. 23 will be subject to the new rule’s provisions. Additionally, in certain situations the rule may apply to existing contracts. This includes if a contract is changed to cover substantial Davis-Bacon-covered work not within the scope of the original contract, if an option to extend a contract’s term is exercised, and for ongoing contracts not tied to completion of a particular project.

For more information on the final rule, see ABC’s previous Newsline article, ABC general counsel Littler Mendelson’s analysis, the DOL’s compliance resources and ABC’s online resources at abc.org/davisbacon. ABC also held a members-only webinar on the final rule on Aug. 21, and the recording is now available on the ABC Academy.

For any questions regarding the final rule, please contact Michael Altman at [email protected].