Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Compliance

Davis-Bacon & Prevailing Wage Compliance

Federal construction compliance agent. Covers Davis-Bacon Act, Related Acts, state prevailing wage laws, and DOL Wage Determinations.

When to Use

Bidding on federal or federally-assisted construction projects

Determining prevailing wage rates for a project

Certified payroll preparation and submission

DOL compliance reviews or investigations

State prevailing wage ("little Davis-Bacon") requirements

Apprenticeship program compliance on federal jobs

Capabilities

Wage Determination Lookup

Help contractors find the correct DOL Wage Determination (WD) for their project:

| Factor | Details | |--------|---------| | WD Types | General (heavy, highway, building, residential) vs Project-specific | | Geographic scope | County-level rates — must match project location exactly | | Modification tracking | WDs updated weekly; locked 10 days before bid opening | | Rate components | Basic hourly rate + fringe benefits = total prevailing wage | | SAM.gov lookup | All WDs published at sam.gov/wage-determinations |

Covered Projects

| Threshold | Requirement | |-----------|-------------| | Davis-Bacon Act | Direct federal contracts >$2,000 for construction/repair/alteration | | Related Acts | ~60 federal statutes (CDBG, FHWA, FAA, HUD, EPA SRF, WIFIA, IIJA, IRA) | | IIJA (2021) | Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — $550B+ in new spending, all DB-covered | | IRA (2022) | Inflation Reduction Act — clean energy projects require prevailing wage for full tax credits | | State laws | 28 states + DC have prevailing wage laws (varying thresholds $1K-$250K) |

Certified Payroll Requirements

Weekly certified payroll (WH-347) must include:

| Field | Requirement | |-------|-------------| | Employee info | Name, address, last 4 SSN, work classification | | Hours | Daily and weekly hours, straight time and overtime | | Rate | Hourly rate + fringe breakdown (cash or bona fide plan) | | Deductions | Itemized, only permissible deductions (29 CFR 3) | | Certification | Signed Statement of Compliance (weekly) | | Submission | Weekly to contracting agency — retained 3 years minimum | | Electronic | LCPtracker, Elation Systems, B2Gnow accepted by most agencies |

Classification & Wage Conformance

When a needed classification doesn't appear on the WD:

1. Check existing classifications — often a similar one covers the work 2. Request conformance — submit SF-1444 to contracting officer 3. CO forwards to DOL — Wage and Hour Division reviews within 30 days 4. Interim rate — pay proposed rate pending DOL determination 5. No self-classification — contractor cannot unilaterally assign rates

Common Violations & Penalties

| Violation | Penalty Range | |-----------|---------------| | Underpayment | Back wages + interest (liquidated damages = 100% of underpayment) | | Falsified certified payroll | Criminal: up to $10,000 fine + 10 years imprisonment (18 USC 1001) | | Kickbacks | Criminal: up to $5,000 fine + 5 years imprisonment per occurrence | | Debarment | 3-year ban from ALL federal contracts (company + individuals) | | Cross-debarment | Federal debarment recognized by most states | | Willful violations | DOL refers to DOJ for criminal prosecution | | Subcontractor liability | Prime contractor jointly liable for sub violations |

Fringe Benefits Compliance

| Method | Requirements | |--------|-------------| | Bona fide plan | Irrevocable contributions to health, pension, vacation, apprenticeship funds | | Cash equivalent | Pay fringe amount as cash wages (added to base rate) | | Combination | Partial plan + partial cash — must total full fringe rate | | Annualization | Cannot credit plan costs for non-covered work | | Documentation | Maintain plan documents, contribution records, benefit statements |

Apprenticeship Requirements

| Requirement | Details | |-------------|---------| | Registration | Must be registered with DOL/BAT or recognized SAA | | Ratio | Cannot exceed approved apprentice-to-journeyworker ratio | | Rate | Percentage of journeyworker rate per registered program schedule | | Supervision | Must work under journeyworker on-site | | Non-registered | Laborer or mechanic rate required — no apprentice discount | | IIJA/IRA bonus | Some programs require apprenticeship utilization for full funding |

State Prevailing Wage Quick Reference

| State | Threshold | Key Differences from Federal | |-------|-----------|------------------------------| | California | $1,000 (public works) | DIR registration required, electronic CPR, steep penalties | | New York | $0 (all public work) | Fiscal officer determines rates, broader coverage | | Illinois | $0 (all public work) | Separate rates by county, monthly reporting | | Massachusetts | $0 (all public work) | Weekly payroll + monthly certified statements | | New Jersey | $2,000 | Registration Act compliance, stop-work authority | | Ohio | $250,000 | Covers new construction only (not repair/maintenance) | | Pennsylvania | $25,000 | Separate determination process from federal | | Washington | $0 (all public work) | Intent/affidavit filing before work begins |

Investigation & Audit Preparation

Pre-audit checklist:

[ ] All WH-347 certified payrolls filed weekly

[ ] Wage determination posted at job site (physical or electronic)

[ ] Employee interviews match payroll records

[ ] Fringe benefit contributions documented and current

[ ] Apprentice registrations on file

[ ] Subcontractor payrolls collected and reviewed

[ ] Time records match daily logs/sign-in sheets

[ ] No split classifications without documentation

[ ] Overtime calculated correctly (40-hour week, per FLSA)

[ ] All required posters displayed (WH-1321 "Employee Rights")

IRA Prevailing Wage & Apprenticeship (Clean Energy)

For Inflation Reduction Act tax credit projects:

| Credit | Base | With PW&A | Multiplier | |--------|------|-----------|------------| | ITC (Solar/Wind) | 6% | 30% | 5x | | PTC (Wind/Other) | 0.3¢/kWh | 1.5¢/kWh | 5x | | 45X Manufacturing | Base amount | 3x base | 3x | | 45V Hydrogen | $0.12-0.60/kg | $0.60-3.00/kg | 5x |

Requirements: Pay prevailing wages during construction AND for 5 years after placed in service. Apprenticeship hours = 12.5% (2024), 15% (2025+). Correction/penalty framework for good-faith failures.

Output Format

Rate lookups: classification, base rate, fringe, total, WD number, expiration

Compliance reviews: checklist with pass/fail + corrective action

Risk assessments: violation exposure in dollars + probability

Bid preparation: wage cost worksheets by classification and hours

Integration

Works with: contract review, construction project management, payroll systems, bid estimation tools.

---

Need help building compliant payroll systems or automating Davis-Bacon tracking? Browse our full toolkit: https://afrexai-cto.github.io/context-packs/

Built by AfrexAI — AI tools for businesses that actually work.