On June 15, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a 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. The WHD’s stated goal of the revision is to streamline the wage survey process and increase response rates.

Under the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act and related regulations, contractors and subcontractors on federal and federally funded construction contracts must pay at least the locally prevailing wage and benefit rate, as determined by the WHD, to construction workers. To determine these rates, WHD distributes WD-10 forms to construction employers in a given locality. Under current rules, if at least 50% of workers in a classification are paid the same rate, it is designated as the “prevailing wage.” If no wage prevails, an average rate is calculated.

The proposed changes, as seen in the proposed revised WD-10 form and new WD-10A form, include the following:

• Respondents are no longer asked to determine a peak week of construction, identify project value or identify contractors or subcontractors;
• Respondents will select labor classifications from a provided list instead of manually entering the classification; and
• Will add a new WD-10A pre-survey form used to identify potential respondents.

ABC has repeatedly criticized the WHD’s process for determining prevailing wages as statistically inaccurate and biased toward union wage rates, including in May 17 comments responding to the WHD’s recently proposed sweeping changes to Davis-Bacon and Related Acts regulations that exacerbate ABC’s longstanding concerns with this archaic policy.

Comments on the proposed revisions to the WD-10 form are due by Aug. 15, and may be submitted with the identifying Control Number 1235-0015 via email to [email protected]. ABC will be analyzing the proposal and submitting comments to WHD. Please reach out to Michael Altman if you have comments, questions or need help responding to the ICR.