On August 8th, 2023, the Department of Labor released a final rule update to the Davis-Bacon (and other related Acts) regulations. The update was done in accordance with President Biden’s executive order 14008, section 206, “Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers”. The Davis-Bacon Acts were a string of New Deal legislation that set up rules for how the Department of Labor determines prevailing wages for contractors and subcontractors working on federally funded/assisted projects. For projects more than $100,000, contractors and subcontractors must pay their employees “at least one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek”. The changes in the rule are intended to modernize the policies and raise wage standards and fringe benefits for construction workers in federally funded/assisted projects. DOL’s Principal Deputy Administrator of WHD Jessica Looman commented on the changes, saying “They will help set correct wage rates for workers on these federally funded construction projects that better reflect the realities of today’s labor market.” In addition to this, the update includes:
· Restoring the DOL’s definition of prevailing wage; “equivalent to the wage paid to at least 30% of workers.”
· Adds anti-retaliation provision in contract clauses for workers who raise concerns about being fired or punished.
· Providing broader authority to adopt state or local wage determinations when certain criteria are met.
For a closer look at what is different with the new rule, DOL has developed a chart that provides a comparison of the new rules with the previous policies.
