Federal prevailing wage law, known as the Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts (Davis-Bacon Act), is applicable to almost every federal and federal-aid project. The rules governing the Davis-Bacon Act have been essentially unchanged for 40 years. But now, for the first time since the Reagan administration, the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) is updating the Davis-Bacon Act and making a number of significant changes to how the Davis-Bacon Act is administered. The updated regulations will be published in the Federal Register on August 23, 2023 and will become effective 60 days later on October 23, 2023. The draft final rule can be found here.
The final rule (at 716 pages, including supplementary information) contains a host of changes and updates, but there are a few that are of particular note. The primary and most significant change is a new definition of “prevailing wage.” Under the new rule, the prevailing wage will be determined by the wage paid to at least 30% of the workers in a particular trade and locality, rather than the current 50%. Previously, if at least 50% of workers in a particular trade and locality did not earn a single wage rate, the Department would use a weighted average. With a weighted average, the more low rates in the survey, the lower the determination of the prevailing wage. According to Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in Philadelphia earlier this month to announce the new regulations, under the new rule, a heavy equipment operator in...
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