November 23, 2020
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced(link is external) that it has launched an education and enforcement initiative in eight Southeastern states to ensure construction companies that work on federal or federally assisted construction projects meet prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) and the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA).
WHD district offices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee will engage federal contracting agencies, the Small Business Administration, and local chapters of construction associations to educate them about construction industry employers’ responsibilities, and how to prevent violations. WHD also will provide educational seminars directly to employers.
Common violations disclosed during these investigations include employers’ failure to:
· Classify and pay workers for the category of work they actually perform;
· Pay the prevailing wage, including applicable fringe benefits, for all the hours employees work;
· Keep accurate records;
· Accurately track and pay workers the appropriate prevailing wages when they perform work in multiple job classifications; and
· Post the DBRA poster and all applicable wage determinations, as the law requires.
The DBRA requires contractors and subcontractors performing work on federal and certain federally funded projects to pay workers prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits as determined by the U.S. Secretary of Labor and as included in their contracts.