Changes To Davis-Bacon Requirements Start In October

Contractors and subcontractors on federally-funded construction projects must pay prevailing wages for workers engaged at the “site of the work,” per the Davis-Bacon Act. A new rule to determine prevailing wages goes into effect Oct. 23, as reported on the Davis Wright Tremaine Employment blog. It allows prevailing wages to be calculated based on those earned by at least 30 percent of workers if the majority in a specific job classification do not earn the same rates. If 30 percent don’t share a common wage, prevailing wages can be a calculation of the weighted average of wages.

If there isn’t data sufficient to calculate prevailing wages for a job classification within a county, the DOL will consider the prevailing wages of surrounding counties. The new rule also strikes the prohibition on using wages in nearby metropolitan counties to set prevailing wages in rural counties and vice versa. It permits prevailing wage calculations for highway projects to be based on wages in state highway districts. Calculations for multi-county projects will be allowed to include wages from each of those counties.

Other changes include: updating the kinds of projects covered by Davis-Bacon, including manufacturing and maintenance of solar panels, wind turbines, and car-charging stations; allowing prevailing wage calculations to treat variable rates as the same wage; workers who take part in wage investigations or voice concerns about payment practices will be covered by anti-retaliation provisions; puts teeth in procedures for recovering back wages; revises basic record requirements for employers to include workers’ last known phone numbers and email addresses.