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Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) frequently asked questions
Is the rate on the wage determination the minimum hourly rate?
Yes. The wage rate listed on the wage determination is the minimum rate that the contractor can pay its employees working on the project.
Once construction has begun, are the workers' wage rates affected when the wage determination for the area in which the project is located is changed?
As a general rule, the wage determination incorporated into a bid solicitation and related contract award establishes the minimum wage rates and fringe benefits which must be paid for the entire term of the contract.
Where the proper wage determination is incorporated into a contract prior to award of the contract, wage determination modifications issued after bid opening are not applicable to the contract -- except in the case of a general wage determination in a contract that has not been awarded within 90 days after the bid opening and an extension of the 90-day limit has not been granted. (Specific requirements involving dates other than bid opening apply for projects assisted under the National Housing Act and for projects that receive housing assistance payments under section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937).
Upon his or her own initiative or at the request of an agency, the Administrator may correct any wage determination if he or she finds that the determination contains an inadvertent clerical error. For example, a wage determination contains a wage rate where there is a transposition of numbers, such as a fringe benefit of $2.53 appears in the wage determination as $2.35.
Also, the Administrator may issue a wage determination after contract award or after the beginning of construction if:
- the contracting/assisting Federal agency has failed to incorporate the applicable wage determination in a contract required to contain prevailing wage rates determined in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act, or has used a wage determination which by its terms or the provisions of Regulations, 29 CFR Part 1, clearly does not apply to the contract, or
- the wrong wage determination has been incorporated in the contract because of an inaccurate description of the project or its location in the agency's SF-308 request.
Under either of these two circumstances, the agency shall either terminate and resolicit the contract with the valid wage determination, or incorporate the valid wage determination retroactive to the beginning of construction through supplemental agreement or through change order, provided that the contractor is compensated for any increases in wages resulting from such change. The method of incorporation of the valid wage determination, and adjustment in contract price, where appropriate, should be in accordance with applicable procurement law.
Is it possible for more than one wage schedule to apply to specifications for a particular contract?
Yes. Construction projects are generally classified as either Building, Heavy, Highway or Residential for purposes of issuing wage determinations. Wage schedules for one or more of these construction categories may have application to construction items contained in a proposed construction project. Guidelines for the selection of proper wage schedules are set forth in All Agency Memoranda No. 130 (March 17, 1978) and No. 131 (July 14, 1978). Any questions regarding the application of these guidelines to a particular project, or any disputes regarding the application of the wage schedules issued for the various construction categories are to be referred to the Wage and Hour Division, together with relevant information, including a complete description of the project and area practice.
Can apprentices, trainees, and/or helpers work on a project covered by the Davis-Bacon or related Acts (DBRA), and what wage rates must they be paid?
Individuals who meet the following definition may be employed as apprentices on DBRA projects:
(a) A person employed and individually registered in a bona fide apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, or with a State Apprenticeship Agency recognized by the Bureau,
or
(b) A person in the first 90 days of probationary employment as an apprentice in such an apprenticeship program, who is not individually registered in the program, but who has been properly certified to be eligible for probationary employment as an apprentice.
Trainees employed must be persons registered in a construction occupation under a program which has been approved in advance by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, as meeting its standards for on-the-job training programs and which have been so certified by that Administration.
Information on wage rates paid to apprentices and trainees is not reflected in Davis-Bacon wage determinations. Similarly, their addition through the additional classification procedure (conformance) is neither necessary nor appropriate. On projects funded by the Federal-Aid Highway Act, apprentices and trainees certified by the Secretary of Transportation are not covered by Davis-Bacon labor standards.
The proper wage rates to be paid to apprentices and trainees are those specified by the particular programs in which they are enrolled, expressed as a percentage of the journeyman rate on the wage determination. In the event employees reported as apprentices or trainees on a covered project have not been properly registered within the meaning of the Regulations and the contract stipulations, or are utilized at the job site in excess of the ratio to journeymen permitted under the approved program, they must be paid the applicable wage rates for laborers and mechanics employed on the project performing in the classification of work they actually performed. This applies regardless of work classifications which may be listed on the submitted payrolls and regardless of their level of skill.
Helper classifications may be issued in or added to a wage determination only where the (a) the duties of the helpers are clearly defined and distinct from those of the journeyman classification and from the laborer, (b) the use of such helpers is an established prevailing practice in the area, and (c) the term "helper" is not synonymous with "trainee" in an informal training program.
What wage rates must be paid to supervisory employees (foremen, superintendents, etc.) employed on a covered project?
The wage rates for bona fide supervisory employees are not regulated under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts because their duties are primarily administrative or executive in nature rather than those of laborers or mechanics. However, such employees who devote more than 20 percent of their time during a workweek to mechanic or laborer duties are laborers and mechanics for the time so spent, and must be paid at least the appropriate wage rates specified in the wage determination. Employees who are bona fide executive, administrative, or professional employees as defined under the Fair Labor Standards Act at 29 CFR Part 541 are not covered by the Davis-Bacon Act.
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