Davis-Bacon Act Modernization Proposed

Officials with the U.S. Department of Labor want to revamp the Davis-Bacon Act for the first time in four decades.

The agency’s wage and hour division officials announced a proposed rulemaking to speed prevailing wage updates, make the current system more efficient, and ensure prevailing wage rates are maintained.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed in November, will bring more than $5.4 billion to Connecticut. More construction jobs locally and throughout the country are expected as a result of the infrastructure updates.

The proposed rules impact both the Davis-Bacon Act specifically and dozens of related laws that address prevailing wage provisions. 

Proposed Changes

The proposed rules include the following changes:

• Return to the definition of “prevailing wage” used from 1935 to 1983 
• Periodically update prevailing wage rates to address out-of-date wage determinations
• Provide broader authority to adopt state or local wage determinations when certain criteria is met
• Issue supplemental rates for key job classifications when no survey data exists
• Update the regulatory language to better reflect modern construction practices
• Strengthen worker protections and enforcement, including debarment and anti-retaliation

There are two ways for employers to submit comments on the proposed rules.

The online portal allows direct submissions or employers can also submit comments by mail.