{"skill":{"slug":"afrexai-davis-bacon","displayName":"Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Compliance","summary":"Provides wage determination lookups, certified payroll compliance, classification conformance, violation risk assessments, and apprenticeship tracking for fe...","description":"# Davis-Bacon & Prevailing Wage Compliance\n\nFederal construction compliance agent. Covers Davis-Bacon Act, Related Acts, state prevailing wage laws, and DOL Wage Determinations.\n\n## When to Use\n- Bidding on federal or federally-assisted construction projects\n- Determining prevailing wage rates for a project\n- Certified payroll preparation and submission\n- DOL compliance reviews or investigations\n- State prevailing wage (\"little Davis-Bacon\") requirements\n- Apprenticeship program compliance on federal jobs\n\n## Capabilities\n\n### Wage Determination Lookup\nHelp contractors find the correct DOL Wage Determination (WD) for their project:\n\n| Factor | Details |\n|--------|---------|\n| **WD Types** | General (heavy, highway, building, residential) vs Project-specific |\n| **Geographic scope** | County-level rates — must match project location exactly |\n| **Modification tracking** | WDs updated weekly; locked 10 days before bid opening |\n| **Rate components** | Basic hourly rate + fringe benefits = total prevailing wage |\n| **SAM.gov lookup** | All WDs published at sam.gov/wage-determinations |\n\n### Covered Projects\n\n| Threshold | Requirement |\n|-----------|-------------|\n| **Davis-Bacon Act** | Direct federal contracts >$2,000 for construction/repair/alteration |\n| **Related Acts** | ~60 federal statutes (CDBG, FHWA, FAA, HUD, EPA SRF, WIFIA, IIJA, IRA) |\n| **IIJA (2021)** | Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — $550B+ in new spending, all DB-covered |\n| **IRA (2022)** | Inflation Reduction Act — clean energy projects require prevailing wage for full tax credits |\n| **State laws** | 28 states + DC have prevailing wage laws (varying thresholds $1K-$250K) |\n\n### Certified Payroll Requirements\n\nWeekly certified payroll (WH-347) must include:\n\n| Field | Requirement |\n|-------|-------------|\n| **Employee info** | Name, address, last 4 SSN, work classification |\n| **Hours** | Daily and weekly hours, straight time and overtime |\n| **Rate** | Hourly rate + fringe breakdown (cash or bona fide plan) |\n| **Deductions** | Itemized, only permissible deductions (29 CFR 3) |\n| **Certification** | Signed Statement of Compliance (weekly) |\n| **Submission** | Weekly to contracting agency — retained 3 years minimum |\n| **Electronic** | LCPtracker, Elation Systems, B2Gnow accepted by most agencies |\n\n### Classification & Wage Conformance\n\nWhen a needed classification doesn't appear on the WD:\n\n1. **Check existing classifications** — often a similar one covers the work\n2. **Request conformance** — submit SF-1444 to contracting officer\n3. **CO forwards to DOL** — Wage and Hour Division reviews within 30 days\n4. **Interim rate** — pay proposed rate pending DOL determination\n5. **No self-classification** — contractor cannot unilaterally assign rates\n\n### Common Violations & Penalties\n\n| Violation | Penalty Range |\n|-----------|---------------|\n| **Underpayment** | Back wages + interest (liquidated damages = 100% of underpayment) |\n| **Falsified certified payroll** | Criminal: up to $10,000 fine + 10 years imprisonment (18 USC 1001) |\n| **Kickbacks** | Criminal: up to $5,000 fine + 5 years imprisonment per occurrence |\n| **Debarment** | 3-year ban from ALL federal contracts (company + individuals) |\n| **Cross-debarment** | Federal debarment recognized by most states |\n| **Willful violations** | DOL refers to DOJ for criminal prosecution |\n| **Subcontractor liability** | Prime contractor jointly liable for sub violations |\n\n### Fringe Benefits Compliance\n\n| Method | Requirements |\n|--------|-------------|\n| **Bona fide plan** | Irrevocable contributions to health, pension, vacation, apprenticeship funds |\n| **Cash equivalent** | Pay fringe amount as cash wages (added to base rate) |\n| **Combination** | Partial plan + partial cash — must total full fringe rate |\n| **Annualization** | Cannot credit plan costs for non-covered work |\n| **Documentation** | Maintain plan documents, contribution records, benefit statements |\n\n### Apprenticeship Requirements\n\n| Requirement | Details |\n|-------------|---------|\n| **Registration** | Must be registered with DOL/BAT or recognized SAA |\n| **Ratio** | Cannot exceed approved apprentice-to-journeyworker ratio |\n| **Rate** | Percentage of journeyworker rate per registered program schedule |\n| **Supervision** | Must work under journeyworker on-site |\n| **Non-registered** | Laborer or mechanic rate required — no apprentice discount |\n| **IIJA/IRA bonus** | Some programs require apprenticeship utilization for full funding |\n\n### State Prevailing Wage Quick Reference\n\n| State | Threshold | Key Differences from Federal |\n|-------|-----------|------------------------------|\n| **California** | $1,000 (public works) | DIR registration required, electronic CPR, steep penalties |\n| **New York** | $0 (all public work) | Fiscal officer determines rates, broader coverage |\n| **Illinois** | $0 (all public work) | Separate rates by county, monthly reporting |\n| **Massachusetts** | $0 (all public work) | Weekly payroll + monthly certified statements |\n| **New Jersey** | $2,000 | Registration Act compliance, stop-work authority |\n| **Ohio** | $250,000 | Covers new construction only (not repair/maintenance) |\n| **Pennsylvania** | $25,000 | Separate determination process from federal |\n| **Washington** | $0 (all public work) | Intent/affidavit filing before work begins |\n\n### Investigation & Audit Preparation\n\n**Pre-audit checklist:**\n- [ ] All WH-347 certified payrolls filed weekly\n- [ ] Wage determination posted at job site (physical or electronic)\n- [ ] Employee interviews match payroll records\n- [ ] Fringe benefit contributions documented and current\n- [ ] Apprentice registrations on file\n- [ ] Subcontractor payrolls collected and reviewed\n- [ ] Time records match daily logs/sign-in sheets\n- [ ] No split classifications without documentation\n- [ ] Overtime calculated correctly (40-hour week, per FLSA)\n- [ ] All required posters displayed (WH-1321 \"Employee Rights\")\n\n### IRA Prevailing Wage & Apprenticeship (Clean Energy)\n\nFor Inflation Reduction Act tax credit projects:\n\n| Credit | Base | With PW&A | Multiplier |\n|--------|------|-----------|------------|\n| **ITC (Solar/Wind)** | 6% | 30% | 5x |\n| **PTC (Wind/Other)** | 0.3¢/kWh | 1.5¢/kWh | 5x |\n| **45X Manufacturing** | Base amount | 3x base | 3x |\n| **45V Hydrogen** | $0.12-0.60/kg | $0.60-3.00/kg | 5x |\n\n**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.\n\n## Output Format\n- Rate lookups: classification, base rate, fringe, total, WD number, expiration\n- Compliance reviews: checklist with pass/fail + corrective action\n- Risk assessments: violation exposure in dollars + probability\n- Bid preparation: wage cost worksheets by classification and hours\n\n## Integration\nWorks with: contract review, construction project management, payroll systems, bid estimation tools.\n\n---\n\n**Need help building compliant payroll systems or automating Davis-Bacon tracking?**\nBrowse our full toolkit: https://afrexai-cto.github.io/context-packs/\n\nBuilt by [AfrexAI](https://afrexai-cto.github.io/context-packs/) — AI tools for businesses that actually work.\n","tags":{"DOL":"1.0.0","IIJA":"1.0.0","IRA":"1.0.0","certified-payroll":"1.0.0","compliance":"1.0.0","construction":"1.0.0","davis-bacon":"1.0.0","federal":"1.0.0","latest":"1.0.0","prevailing-wage":"1.0.0"},"stats":{"comments":0,"downloads":667,"installsAllTime":25,"installsCurrent":0,"stars":0,"versions":1},"createdAt":1771976657742,"updatedAt":1778491632988},"latestVersion":{"version":"1.0.0","createdAt":1771976657742,"changelog":"- Initial release of the Davis-Bacon & Prevailing Wage Compliance skill.\n- Provides guidance on federal and state prevailing wage laws, including the Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts.\n- Supports wage determination lookup, certified payroll preparation, and compliance for federal and federally-assisted construction projects.\n- Includes checklists for audit preparation, summaries of common violations and penalties, and state-by-state prevailing wage references.\n- Covers requirements for wage classification/conformance, fringe benefits, apprenticeship, and IRA/IIJA clean energy projects.\n- Designed to integrate with contract review, project management, payroll, and bid estimation tools.","license":null},"metadata":null,"owner":{"handle":"1kalin","userId":"s17e1q0nx23qnh4n429zzqc05x83hvsw","displayName":"1kalin","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/15705344?v=4"},"moderation":null}