The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently updated its Prevailing Wage Resource Book (PWRB). In light of the recent publication of the final rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations, which took effect on October 23, 2023, WHD claims to have conducted a review of the PWRB to simplify the language, restructure the format in a more intuitive manner, and provide additional guidance and examples where stakeholders routinely requested clarification.
Contractors, contracting agencies, enforcement staff, unions, associations, and workers have long relied upon the PWRB to gain a better understanding of the labor standards on certain federal and federally funded contracts including those involving the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA), the Service Contract Act (SCA), the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (PCA), the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA), the Copeland "Anti-Kickback" Act, and Executive Orders impacting federal contracts.
The updated PWRB discusses WHD’s policies allegedly in a way that is more easily accessible to stakeholders and provides them with a better understanding of the labor standards that apply to many federal and federally funded contracts.
The PWRB is a valuable companion to the Davis-Bacon Compliance Manual published by AGC of America and written specifically for construction contractors engaged in federal and federally assisted construction.
For more information from WHD on the labor standards applicable to federal and federally funded contracts, visit the Government Contracts Compliance Assistance webpage. For additional Davis-Bacon resources from AGC, Affirmative Action/EEO resources, visit AGC’s Labor & HR Topical Resources library, and select “Wages and Benefits” as the main category and “Davis-Bacon Act” as the subcategory. You must be logged in as an AGC member to access the materials.
For more information, contact Claiborne Guy at claiborne.guy@agc.org or 703-837-5382.