Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Frequently Asked Questions

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III. Prevailing Wage Rates

Once construction has begun, are the workers’ wage rates affected when the wage determination for the area in which the project is located is changed?

As a general rule, the wage determination incorporated into a bid solicitation and related contract award establishes the minimum wage rates and fringe benefits which must be paid for the entire term of the contract.

Where the proper wage determination is incorporated into a contract prior to award of the contract, wage determination modifications issued after bid opening are not applicable to the contract –- except in the case of a general wage determination in a contract that has not been awarded within 90 days after the bid opening and an extension of the 90-day limit has not been granted. (Specific requirements involving dates other than bid opening apply for projects assisted under the National Housing Act and for projects that receive housing assistance payments under section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937).

Upon his or her own initiative or at the request of an agency, the Administrator may correct any wage determination if he or she finds that the determination contains an inadvertent clerical error. For example, a wage determination contains a wage rate where there is a transposition of numbers, such as a fringe benefit of $2.53 appears in the wage determination as $2.35.

Also, the Administrator may issue a wage determination after contract award or after the beginning of construction if:

1. the contracting/assisting Federal agency has failed to incorporate the applicable wage determination in a contract required to contain prevailing wage rates determined in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act, or has used a wage determination which by its terms or the provisions of Regulations, 29 CFR Part 1, clearly does not apply to the contract, or
2. the wrong wage determination has been incorporated in the contract because of an inaccurate description of the project or its location in the agency’s SF-308 request.

Under either of these two circumstances, the agency shall either terminate and resolicit the contract with the valid wage determination, or incorporate the valid wage determination retroactive to the beginning of construction through supplemental agreement or through change order, provided that the contractor is compensated for any increases in wages resulting from such change. The method of incorporation of the valid wage determination, and adjustment in contract price, where appropriate, should be in accordance with applicable procurement law.