The 1931 federal statute requiring payment of locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits to laborers and mechanics on federally funded construction contracts above 2,000 dollars.
DBA.
The Davis-Bacon Act was enacted March 3, 1931 and is codified at 40 U.S.C. 3141 through 3148. It requires contractors and subcontractors on federally funded contracts in excess of 2,000 dollars for the construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or public works in the United States to pay laborers and mechanics on the site of the work no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits as determined by the Secretary of Labor. The implementing regulations sit at 29 CFR Parts 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7. Part 1 covers procedures for predetermination of wage rates. Part 3 covers contractor weekly reporting. Part 5 covers labor standards provisions applicable to contracts covering federally funded and federally assisted construction.
The Davis-Bacon Related Acts (DBRA) are more than 60 federal statutes that extend Davis-Bacon labor standards to federally assisted construction projects funded through federal grants, loans, loan guarantees, and insurance. The DBRA include the Federal-Aid Highway Act, the Housing and Urban Development Act, the Energy Policy Act, the Clean Water Act construction grants, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provisions. A single project may invoke Davis-Bacon either directly through federal procurement under FAR 22.404 or through DBRA when the project receives federal financial assistance covered by one of the statutes.
The Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division issues prevailing wage determinations by county and by construction type (building, residential, highway, heavy). Determinations are published at SAM.gov Wage Determinations and are incorporated into solicitations and contracts. The 2023 final rule, "Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations", effective October 23, 2023, restored the three-step process for wage determination (the pre-1982 method using the wage rate paid to the majority, or in the absence of a majority the rate paid to at least 30 percent of workers, or weighted average), extended coverage to certain truck drivers and survey crews, and modernized enforcement.
For a foreign-headquartered construction contractor, infrastructure equipment supplier with on-site installation responsibilities, or US subsidiary performing federally funded construction, Davis-Bacon is a labor-cost gate. The on-site labor portion of the bid must be priced at the published prevailing wage and fringe rates, not the firm's home-country wage rates and not the firm's normal US commercial wage rates if those are below prevailing. Certified payroll reporting on Form WH-347 is weekly and is signed under penalty of False Claims Act exposure. Subcontractor flow-down is required at every tier.
For German, Swiss, Austrian, Italian, or French construction-equipment firms that bid US infrastructure projects, the prevailing wage adjustment is typically the largest single line-item shift between an EU commercial bid model and a US federal bid model. The wage determinations are public, so the cost model can be built in advance, but it requires US payroll counsel and a payroll provider experienced in certified payroll on federal projects.
Davis-Bacon sits on the infrastructure trajectory in the Operators entering the US book and the BABA related entry for firms building into IIJA-funded projects. It shows up in the Answers hub on US labor cost-base questions. The presentation work covers how the firm names its certified-payroll capability, its US labor partner, and its prior Davis-Bacon project history on US-facing surfaces. The wage-determination work and payroll compliance belong with the firm's US labor counsel and certified-payroll provider.
Global Marketing Agency does not provide Davis-Bacon wage determination analysis, certified payroll preparation, US labor counsel, or Department of Labor investigation defense. Those activities belong to US labor counsel and a certified-payroll provider. GMA works on how the firm's federal-construction labor posture is presented, sequenced, and read on US-facing surfaces.
Sources cited on this page: US DOL Wage and Hour Division, Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, SAM.gov Wage Determinations, Davis-Bacon and Related Acts final rule, 88 Fed. Reg. 57526, US DOL Form WH-347 Certified Payroll, FAR Part 22, Application of Labor Laws to Government Acquisitions, US GAO, Davis-Bacon Act enforcement.