On Aug. 23, the U.S. Department of Labor officially published its final rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations, in the Federal Register. The regulation’s drastic revisions to existing rules regarding government-determined prevailing wage rates that must be paid to construction workers on federal and federally assisted construction projects funded by taxpayers will now take effect on Oct. 23.

ABC issued a statement opposing the new rule, stating:

“This is yet another Biden administration handout to organized labor on the backs of taxpayers, small businesses and the free market,” said ABC Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck. “Unfortunately, the DOL’s final rule disregards the feedback of ABC contractors, construction industry stakeholders and thousands of small businesses urging the withdrawal of this unnecessary, costly and burdensome regulation.” 

All contracts entered into after Oct. 23 will be subject to the new rule’s provisions. Additionally, in certain situations the rule may apply to existing contracts. This includes if a contract is changed to include substantial Davis-Bacon-covered work not within the scope of the original contract, if an option to extend a contract’s term is exercised and for ongoing contracts not tied to completion of a particular project.

For more information on the final rule, see ABC’s previous Newsline article, ABC general counsel Littler Mendelson’s analysis and ABC’s online resources at abc.org/davisbacon. ABC also held a members-only webinar on the final rule on Aug. 21, and the recording is now available on ABC’s Academy.

The DOL will also be conducting webinars on the final rule on Sept. 13 and 14, and has provided compliance resources on the final rule.

For any questions regarding the final rule, please contact Michael Altman at [email protected].