ABC Criticizes Proposed Changes to Davis-Bacon Survey Form

NEWS

ABC Criticizes Proposed Changes to Davis-Bacon Survey Form

August 17, 2022

On Aug. 15, ABC submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division’s notice of a proposed revision to the Information Collection Request, titled “Report of Construction Contractor’s Wage Rates.” This ICR governs the WD-10 form used in wage surveys to determine the prevailing wage rate under Davis-Bacon and Related Acts requirements.

Under the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act and related regulations, contractors and subcontractors on federal and federally funded construction contracts must pay at least the locally prevailing wage and benefit rate, as determined by the WHD, to construction workers. To determine these rates, WHD distributes WD-10 forms to construction employers in a given locality. Under current rules, if at least 50% of workers in a classification are paid the same rate, it is designated as the “prevailing wage.” If no wage prevails, an average rate is calculated.

ABC’s comments on the June 15 proposed revisions reiterated the significant flaws in the wage survey process, which the changes to the WD-10 form entirely fail to address. The comments also addressed concerns regarding the length of the survey, bias in the newly preselected listing of job classification toward unionized job descriptions, and inaccuracies in the WHD’s assessment of the burden of the proposed information collection.

The proposed changes come in the context of the WHD’s proposal to dramatically expand and alter prevailing wage regulations, which ABC opposed in extensive comments. ABC will continue to advocate for common-sense reforms to Davis-Bacon regulations and will provide updates in Newsline.