Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Compliance

Provides wage determination lookups, certified payroll compliance, classification conformance, violation risk assessments, and apprenticeship tracking for fe...

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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:

Check existing classifications — often a similar one covers the work
Request conformance — submit SF-1444 to contracting officer
CO forwards to DOL — Wage and Hour Division reviews within 30 days
Interim rate — pay proposed rate pending DOL determination
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:

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.