U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) DAVIS-BACON WEBINAR TRAINING Covering Wage Determinations,

U.S. Department of LaborWage and Hour Division

Health Resources and ServicesAdministration (HRSA)

DAVIS-BACON WEBINAR TRAINING

Covering Wage Determinations, Conformances, & Certified Payrolls

Thursday, June 10, 2010


Davis-Bacon Labor Standards/Contract Stipulations

The term “labor standards” means the requirements of:The Davis-Bacon ActThe Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards

ActThe Copeland ActPrevailing wage provisions of the Davis-Bacon

and “related Acts”Regulations, 29 CFR 1, 3, and 5


Davis-Bacon Labor Standards (29 CFR 5.5)

Minimum wages (MW’s)

Withholding

Maintaining basic payroll records

Submission of certified payroll records

Apprentices

Trainees



Davis-Bacon Labor Standards

Copeland Act (CA) compliance

Subcontracts

Contract termination and debarment

Rulings and interpretations

Disputes

Certification of eligibility


Davis-Bacon

Wage Determinations



DB Wage Determinations What Is It?

A document issued by the Wage and Hour Division specifying the minimum hourly wage rates and fringe benefits that contractors and subcontractors are required to pay employees working on construction projects.


DB Wage DeterminationsWhy Do I Need One?

The Davis-Bacon Act requires that each contract over $2,000 to which the Federal Government or the District of Columbia is a party to for the construction, alteration and or repair of a public building or public work, including painting and decorating, must contain clauses setting forth the minimum wages to be paid to various classes of laborers and mechanics employed on federally funded or assisted construction projects.


DB Wage DeterminationsHow Do I Get One?

If you are a Contracting Officer or Federal AgencyOfficial site for General Wage Determinations –

http://www.wdol.gov/ If you are a Contractor

Federal agencies are required to include WD’s in the solicitation and contract documents

If you are a SubcontractorPrime contractor is required to include WD’s in

subcontractors agreement


DB Wage DeterminationsSelecting The Proper Wage

Determinations Location: State and County Type of Construction: Building; Heavy; Highway;

Residential Current WD: question or disputes concerning

appropriate classification of project should be submitted to Wage and Hour Division for resolution


DB Wage DeterminationsTypes

General Wage Determinations Project Wage Determinations


DB Wage DeterminationsGeneral

Have been issued for most counties and for each major type of construction, nationwide

May be used by the Federal agency without notifying the WHD

Official site for General Wage Determinations – http://www.wdol.gov/


Project Wage Determinations

Issued on case-by-case basis where no general WD is in effect or where virtually all the work (100%) on a contract will be performed by a classification that is not listed in general WD

SF-308, “Request for Determination and Response To Request” submitted by agency to request Project WD


DB/DBRA WAGE DeterminationModifications

Both General and Project WD’s may be modified:To apply results of a new surveyTo update union rates due to changes in CBA’sGeneral Wage Decisions contain “Supersedes

wage decisions” that replace prior General WD’s. These WD’s begin with Mod. No. 0


DB/DBRA Current Wage Determinations

Contracting agency must ensure that up to date WDs are included in bid/RFP documents, and modifications are included up to the time of award

On negotiated contracts (RFPs), contracting agency must use most up to date WD issued at time of contract award date


DB/DBRA Current Wage Determinations

On competitive bidding contracts, WD’s issued within 10 days of opening bid date shall be used unless there is not enough time to notify all bidders

Where General WD applies, if contract not awarded within 90 days, new modifications must be incorporated or extensions applied for and granted.

Same for Project WD that expires before award


DB/DBRA Current Wage Determination

Modifications to DB WDs and supersedes WD issued after award do not apply to contract.

During pre-bid conferences, Contractors should be encouraged to review WDs and raise any objections or questions during advertising period. Later complaints may be deemed untimely and not be acted upon.


DB/DBRA Wage Determination Extensions

Granted by WH Administrator if after opening bid: For General WD, award does not take place within 90

days For Project WD, WD expires before award date Request is supported by written finding with factual

support that extension is necessary and in public interest


DB/DBRA Wage DeterminationCorrection of Clerical Errors

WH Administrator may correct any WD if it is determined that it contains inadvertent clerical error

Such corrections are retroactive to start of construction and in any bid specification


DB/DBRA Wage DeterminationCover Sheet

The decision number Number of WD superseded, if applicable State(s) covered Type of Construction Counties or cities covered Description of construction WD applies, or does not

apply to Record of Modifications







WDOL Home Page



Archived DBA WDs





Library

SCA Directory of Occupations Applicable Regulations – FAR & DOL FAR Supplement & Other Acquisition Regulations Sites relating to labor standards & compliance

requirements


Library

Acronyms & Glossary Sites for Contracting Agency Pre-Award Activities Related Documents/Links Cross-Walk from Title 29 CFR (DOL Regs) to Title 48

CFR (FAR) Conformances


Applicable Regulations

Title 41 CFR (FAR) Federal Register Title 29 CFR (DOL Regulations) Engineer Pamphlet on SCA Labor Relations


Other Internet Sites

Wage and Hour Division - http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd

Office of the Administrative Law Judges Law Library - http://www.oalj.dol.gov

Administrative Review Board - http://www.dol.gov/arb

Debarred Bidders List - http://www.epls.gov


DAVIS-BACONWage

Determination

Conformances


DB/DBRA Wage DeterminationConformance Process

Is requested classification already listed in contract WD?

Can a classification in the contract WD perform the work?



If yes, is WD classification a union or non-union rate?Union rate - only information from union segment

of industry is relevant to determining if request should be denied

Non-union rate - only practices of non-union contractors may be used as basis for denying request



Is there evidence that duties in question were performed by employees in that sector of the construction industry on similar construction in area prior to award?

If there is such evidence - request must be denied If no such evidence - determine if requested rate

bears reasonable relationship to wage rates on WD



WeldersAdditional classification not generally neededWelding is commonly considered incidental to

ironworkers, plumbers, sheet metal workers, etc.


DB/DBRA Wage DeterminationSpecial Situations

Additional classifications and wage rates are not needed for bona fide apprentices and trainees They can work for less that WD wage rates only if

they are registered in an approved program authorized by or recognized by Bureau of Apprenticeship Training (BAT)


DB/DBRA Wage DeterminationSpecial Situations

Helpers may not be employed and a helper rate conformance request will not be approved unless duties are clearly defined and distinct from those of journeyman classification, and use is established by prevailing practice


DB/DBRA Wage Determination Conformance Process

SF-1444 Is classification already listed? Does a listed classification perform the work? Is listed classification union or non-union rate? Is there project payment evidence from that sector? Does listed classification performing the work

disapprove of request? If work not performed by listed classification, is

requested rate comparable to other rates?


Conformances

CLASSROOM EXERCISE






Disclaimer

This presentation is intended as general information only and does not carry the force of legal opinion.

The Department of Labor is providing this information as a public service. This information and related materials are presented to give the public access to information on Department of Labor programs. You should be aware that, while we try to keep the information timely and accurate, there will often be a delay between official publications of the materials and the modification of these pages. Therefore, we make no express or implied guarantees. The Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Department of Labor. We will make every effort to keep this information current and to correct errors brought to our attention.