DOL Issues Final Rule to Modernize Davis-Bacon Act

Published August 23, 2023

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule that updates the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) regulations intended to reflect better the needs of construction workers on federal construction investments.

The final rule provides greater clarity and enhances the DBRA regulations’ effectiveness in the modern economy. The updates strengthen and streamline the process for setting and enforcing wage rates on federally funded construction projects to make sure that federal government infrastructure investments are also investments in U.S. workers.

The final rule's regulatory changes include:
  • Creating new efficiencies in the prevailing wage update system and making sure prevailing wage rates keep up with actual wages which, over time, would mean higher wages for workers;
  • Returning to the definition of “prevailing wage” used from 1935 to 1983 to ensure prevailing wages reflect actual wages paid to workers in the local community;
  • Periodically updating prevailing wage rates to address out-of-date wage determinations;
  • Providing broader authority to adopt state or local wage determinations when certain criteria are met;
  • Issuing supplemental rates for key job classifications when no survey data exists;
  • Updating the regulatory language to better reflect modern construction practices; and
  • Strengthening worker protections and enforcement, including debarment and anti-retaliation provisions.

The final rule is effective October 23, 2023.

Additional Information