August 2023 Final Rule

On Aug. 8, 2023 the U.S. Department of Labor released a final rule, , which makes听drastic revisions to the Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts regulations that apply to federal and federally assisted construction projects funded by taxpayers .

The DOL鈥檚 final rule mostly disregards the feedback of 老牛影视contractors, construction industry stakeholders and thousands of small businesses urging the withdrawal of this unnecessary, costly and burdensome regulation.

Instead, the DOL is moving forward with dramatic changes to prevailing wage regulations, reversing much-needed reforms that were established by the Reagan administration, and unlawfully increasing the regulatory burden on small businesses, new industries and public works projects.听

Key changes in the final rule include:

  • Lowering the definition of 鈥減revailing wage鈥� to a wage paid to at least 30% of workers in a locality, down from 50%
  • Allowing the DOL to adopt state or local prevailing wage rates as DBA wage rates
  • Making DBA requirements effective by 鈥渙peration of law,鈥� meaning even if a federal agency fails to include DBA clauses in a contract, contractors are still required to pay prevailing wages
  • Adds new anti-retaliation provisions to DBA contracts

The final rule was published in the Federal Register on Aug. 23, 2023, and will take effect on Oct. 23, 2023. Therefore, contracts entered into after this date will be impacted, and the DOL will be implementing the final rule鈥檚 changes to the wage determination process to WDs completed after the effective date.

老牛影视offered a , 2023,听and will continue to provide additional resources to assist contractors in complying with these new regulations.

On Nov. 7, 2023 老牛影视filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas challenging the DOL鈥檚 inflationary and controversial final rule. Expect additional updates on the litigation in this space.

In a separate lawsuit by the Associated General Contractors of America, on June 24, 2024 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granting a nationwide preliminary injunction that blocks some provisions of the final rule. These provisions include those expanding coverage to include manufacturing facilities miles away from projects and delivery truck drivers spending any amount of time on a jobsite, as well as the imposition of the rule on already-executed contracts, among other things.

The 1931 Davis-Bacon Act and related regulations require contractors and subcontractors that perform work on federal and federally funded construction projects to pay a government-determined prevailing wage and benefit rate on an hourly basis to on-site construction workers. According to the DOL rulemaking, the Davis-Bacon Act and 71 active Related Acts collectively apply to an estimated $217 billion in federal and federally assisted construction spending per year鈥攁bout 63% of all government construction put in place鈥攁nd provide government-determined wage rates for an estimated 1.2 million U.S. construction workers. The Biden administration and Congress have recently expanded the application of Davis-Bacon Act prevail wage and benefit requirements onto hundreds of billions of dollars worth of private clean energy and microchip manufacturing projects.

Final Rule Resources:

Proposed Rule Resources

  • ABC听听on the Proposed Rule, which urged the DOL to withdrawal the proposal
  • and on the .
  • 老牛影视General Counsel Maury Baskin of Littler Mendelson鈥檚听
  • April 19 老牛影视members-only webinar, 鈥淒OL鈥檚 New Davis-Bacon Proposal鈥撯�揥hat Construction Contractors Need to Know,鈥� recording available in the听
  • U.S. DOL Davis-Bacon Act听 听(Updated May 5, 2022)
  • 听in reaction to the U.S. Department of Labor鈥檚 proposed rule,听

Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS Act and Davis-Bacon Related Acts Resources

  • The Inflation Reduction Act, which provides over $270 billion in tax credits for clean energy construction, includes an unprecedented expansion of Davis-Bacon wage requirements onto the private sector 鈥� visit abc.org/ira for more information and resources.
  • The CHIPS Act provides nearly $50 billion in direct federal funding and additional tax credits for semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain projects 鈥� visit abc.org/chips for more information and resources.
  • U.S. DOL鈥檚
  • Congressional Research Service report: , Sept. 14, 2021

Additional Davis-Bacon Information:

  • , Updated January 2021
  • , Updated January 2023
  • ABC听
  • ABC听听on the Davis-Bacon Act and prevailing wage laws

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

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DAVIS-BACON ACT COMPLIANCE INFORMATION

Visit the听听for guidance, fact sheets, e-tools, posters, forms, guidance and additional resources.

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The DOL鈥檚 page provides compliance information including FAQs and a comparison chart on the August 2023 final rule.

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The听听 updated on April 1, 2024 to reflect changes implemented by the August 2023 final rule, was developed by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division as a training tool for use in prevailing wage conferences.

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The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division鈥檚 Field Operations Handbook includes a chapter with helpful language on听 .

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The DOL provides to provide training on the Davis-Bacon Act and other prevailing wage requirements.

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The DOL鈥檚 list provides contacts at each federal agency responsible for implementation and compliance with labor law requirements for federal contractors, including Davis-Bacon regulations.

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Wage Determinations

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

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The DOL鈥檚 provides information on requesting conformances where wage determinations do not contain an appropriate labor classification.

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Wage Surveys

The DOL鈥檚 page status of upcoming Davis-Bacon wage surveys, providing opportunities for contractors to participate in the wage determination process.

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The can be used to participate in relevant surveys.

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The provides contact information for the DOL staff responsible for wage determinations in different regions.

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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 鈥減revailing鈥� 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.

老牛影视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, 老牛影视also continues to support legislative and regulatory efforts designed to mitigate the Act鈥檚 negative effects. 老牛影视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,听