Federal Davis-Bacon Act
Prevailing Wage
Information about wage requirements set by the U.S. Department of Labor
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ASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS
Prevailing Wage
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 “prevailing” 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.
Take a Stand Against Wage Mandates
ABC 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, ABC also continues to support legislative and regulatory efforts designed to mitigate the Act’s negative effects. ABC opposes expansion of Davis-Bacon into areas of public and private projects in which it has not been previously mandated.
The Davis-Bacon Act is an 80-year-old wage subsidy law administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that mandates so-called “prevailing” wages for employees of contractors and subcontractors performing work on federally financed construction projects. The Davis-Bacon Act, as administered by DOL, unnecessarily hinders economic growth, increases the federal deficit, and imposes an enormous paperwork burden on both contractors and the federal government. It stifles contractor productivity by raising costs, ignores skill differences for different jobs, and imposes rigid craft work rules.
