Davis Bacon prevailing wage rates are required for federal and many many other public sector facilities repair, renovation, and new construction projects. They are also common used for Job Order Contracting and other LEAN construction delivery methods.
The Davis-Bacon Act (DBA), enacted in 1931 and amended in 1935 and 1964, is designed to protects communities and workers from non-local contractors underbidding local wage levels.
Davis Bacon wage rates are established and published by U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). They include local “prevailing wages” and “fringe benefits” for laborers and mechanics and apply to Federal and District of Columbia contracts, more specifically, contracts in excess of $2,000 to which the Federal Government or the District of Columbia is a party for construction, alteration, and/or repair, including painting and decorating, of public buildings or public works.
Davis Bacon wage rate requirements 1. apply to “laborers” and “mechanics” of contractors and subcontractors, 2. Performing work on the “site of the work” , Must be paid not less often than weekly, and must be posted at the job site .
Wage determinations are based upon 1. BUILDING construction: The construction, rehabilitation and repair of sheltered enclosures with walk-in access for the purpose of housing persons, machinery, equipment or supplies (includes installation of utilities and equipment, both above and below grade). 2. RESIDENTIAL construction: For Davis-Bacon purposes, include construction, alteration, or repair of single family houses, townhouses, and apartment buildings of no more than four (4) stories in height.3. HIGHWAY projects: Construction, alteration or repair of roads, streets, highways, runways, taxiways, alleys, trails, paths, parking areas, and similar projects not incidental to building or heavy construction. 4 .HEAVY construction: Projects within the heavy classification may sometimes be distinguished on the basis of their particular project characteristics and separate schedules issued. Example: sewer & water line projects.
Multiple wage schedules apply to different types of construction on a project: If construction items of a separate type of construction are: 20% or more of total project cost; or will cost $1,000,000 or more.
The Four BT OpenJOC Unit Price Book(TM) incorporates prevailing wage rates or Davis Bacon prevailing wage rates based upon contract and client related requirements. The unit price book includes detailed unit price line item construction costs for repair, renovation, and new builds. Each line item includes a task description, a unit of measure, a total cost, an associated crew, and breakdowns for labor, material, and equipment as applicable to the line item. Each Unit Price Book is locally researched an updated regularly for pricing variations. The unit price book is organized by CSI Masterformat and also include line item modifiers. The latter are adds/deducts to the parent line item to account for quanity or task specific variations.
NOTE: The above is NOT intended as ANY form of LEGAL ADVICE, but rather simply information to be considered and reviewed as appropriate for your organization.Report this