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WDOL.gov is part of the Integrated Acquisition Environment,
one of the E-Government initiatives in the President’s Management Agenda.
It is a collaborative effort of the Office of Management and Budget,
Department of Labor, Department of Defense, General Services Administration,
Department of Energy, and Department of Commerce.
C. Davis Bacon Act: Regulations and Requirements
- DBA Statute and Regulations The
WDOL.GOV Library Page contains a link to DOL's website and
to a copy of the statute (40 U.S.C. 276) and the pertinent
DBA regulations (Title 29 CFR Parts 1, 3, 5, and 7).
- FAR and Supplements. The WDOL.GOV
Library Page also contains ``links to federal acquisition regulations,
including the supplements issued by each federal contracting
agency. WDOL.GOV users are urged to familiarize themselves
not only with DOL regulations, but also with the pertinent
acquisition regulations pertaining to specific contract actions
requiring construction work.
- Application of DBA. DBA provisions
are applicable to contracts in excess of $2,000 for the construction,
alteration and/or repair, including painting and decorating,
of a public building or public work. Coverage is described
in detail at Title 29 CFR Part 5 and FAR 22.402 and 22.403.
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- DBA WDs Contracting officers
and other interested parties may obtain current, official DBA
General Wage Decisions (DBA WDs) from the WDOL.GOV Program.
- Under the WDOL Program, DOL will publish all DBA
WD revisions for a given week on the WDOL.GOV Program
database each Friday. The
WDOL.GOV Program will also provide a notice to users
of pending revisions to be listed on the next scheduled
publishing date (Friday). The pending revisions are found
at "DBA WDs to Be Revised Next Friday". The WDOL.GOV
Program will also provide a notice to users of pending
revisions to be listed on the next scheduled publishing
date (Friday). The pending revisions are found at "DBA
WDs to Be Revised Next Friday".
- DOL issues DBA WDs reflecting
prevailing wages and benefits paid by the construction
industry within specific localities. The DBA WDs are
further classified by the nature of the construction
projects performed, specifically listed as "schedules":
residential, building, highway, and heavy construction.
A brief outline of the definitions for each schedule
is listed below. Further details and examples may be
found in DOL's "All Agency Memorandum No. 130 and 131" issued
in 1978 (reference the WDOL Library Page).
- Building Construction.
Includes construction of sheltered enclosures with
walk-in access for the purpose of housing persons,
machinery, equipment or supplies; all construction
of such structures; the installation of utilities and
of equipment, both above and below grade levels; as
well as incidental grading, utilities and paving. Such
structures need not be "habitable" to be building construction.
Also, the installation of heavy machinery and/or equipment
does not generally change the project's character as
a building.
- Heavy Construction.
Includes those projects that are not properly classified
as either "building," "highway," or "residential." Unlike
these classifications, heavy construction is not a
homogenous classification. Because of this catch-all
nature, projects within the heavy classification may
sometimes be distinguished on the basis of their particular
project characteristics, and separate schedules may
be issued for dredging projects, water and sewer line
projects, dams, major bridges, and flood control projects.
- Highway Construction. Includes
construction, alteration or repair of roads, streets,
highways, runways, taxiways, alleys, trails, paths,
parking areas, and other similar projects not incidental
to building or heavy construction.
- Residential Construction. Includes
the construction, alteration or repair of single-family
houses, apartment buildings of no more than four stories
in height. This includes all incidental items such
as site work, parking areas, utilities, streets, and
sidewalks.
- Some contracts or projects may require more than one general schedule to be included depending on the nature and extent of the work. This is described in more detail in DOL's All Agency Memo No. 131. The contracting agency should provide designate the work to which each wage determination or part thereof applies per FAR 22.404-2.
- There may be rare circumstances where the general schedule wage determination do not contain the principal work classification necessary for contract performance. In those situation a project wage determination may be requested from Department of Labor by submittal of an SF-308 or other request that contains the same information. In such cases the Contracting Officer should follow the instruction in FAR 22.404-3.
- The contracting officer must monitor the WDOL.GOV Program DBA database regularly to determine if a selected WD has been revised prior to the expiration of the "effective date" for that particular contract action.
- DBA WD Numbering System
Within WDOL.gov. DBA WDs are generally numbered by DOL
in the following format: a current WD applicable to Virginia
is numbered "VA030001" (showing the two-letter state
abbreviation (VA), the latest year of publication (03),
and the sequential number assigned to the particular
WD (0001)). In using the WDOL.gov menus for "Selecting
DB WDs" or selecting "Archived DB WDs", the user must
use the DBA WD short-number for each WD. The format will
be as follows: for VA030001 the short-number is "VA1";
for MD030114, the short-number is "MD114". In "Selecting
DBA WDs, the user may also select a WD without the number
by completing the menu for other selection criteria (state,
county, type of construction).
- WDOL.GOV
ALERT SYSTEM. To ensure that the contracting
officer (or other interested party) is aware of revisions
made by DOL to DBA WDs selected for a specific contract
action, the WDOL.GOV user may register for automatic
email notification of such revisions. Upon selection
of an appropriate DBA WD, the user will be offered
the opportunity to request email notice of future revisions
for a specific period of time, or until a specific
date. Contracting officers are encouraged to request
this automatic notification process in order to be
aware of timely revisions applicable to contract actions.
- At the Alert Service menu, the user will
be asked to provide an email address for the WDOL.gov
to use in providing notification of a revision
to a WD. The user may also provide an "alert identifier" which
will appear in the WDOL.gov notification and will
assist the user in relating the newly revised WD
to a specific contract or solicitation, or other
area of interest.
- Users requesting the Alert Service will receive
an email notice each time the selected DBA WD is
revised until the Alert Service request expires.
CAUTION: The Alert Service does not relieve the
contracting officer of the obligation under DBA
and its regulations to use timely received new
or revised DB WDs in contract actions.
- Archived
DBA WDs.Once DOL revises a DBA WD, the most
current revision will be published on the WDOL.GOV
database. Prior revisions, no longer current, will
be maintained in the "Archived DBA WD" database for
information purposes only. Contracting officers should
not use an archived WD in a contract action without
prior approval of DOL. Contact DOL at at Telephone no. 866-487-9423.
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- Effective Dates for DBA WD Modifications (Reference
Title 29 CFR Part 1, Section 1.6(c) and FAR 22.404-6).
- Modifications to DBA WDs shall
be effective if received (or if notice of the
modification is published in the Federal Register or
the WD is posted on the WDOL.GOV website):
- (for contract actions resulting from other
than sealed bidding, prior to date of
award;
- for contracts resulting from sealed
bidding, no less than 10 days prior to
bid opening.
- If you have questions concerning the applicability of DBA
provisions or a DBA WD, or the timeliness of a revised DBA
WD, contact the contracting officer or the agency labor advisor.
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- Conformances (Requesting Authorization
of Additional Classification and Rate). DOL issues
WDs under DBA using available statistical data on prevailing
wages and benefits in a locality. On occasion, the data does
not contain sufficient information to issue rates for a particular
craft needed in the performance of the contract. Because
of this, DBA provisions contain a conformance procedure for
the purpose of establishing a DBA-enforceable wage and benefit
rate for missing job classifications.
- Contractors are responsible
for determining the appropriate crafts necessary to perform
the contract work. If a classification considered necessary
for performance of the work is missing from the WD applicable
to the contract, the contractor must initiate a request for
approval of a proposed wage and benefit rate. Generally, the
contractor initiates the request by preparing an SF-1444, Request
for Authorization of Additional Classification and Rate,
at the time of employment of the unlisted craft. (Reference
Title 29 CFR Part 5, Section 5.5(a)(1)(ii) and FAR 22.406-3).
The contractor completes blocks 2 through 15 on the form. Requests
may be submitted without the form, but must contain the required
information.
- Contractors must request employees,
if present, or their designated representative, to sign block
16 noting the employee's concurrence or disagreement with the
contractor's proposed wage and benefit rate. A statement supporting
a recommendation for different rates may accompany any indication
of disagreement. The "designated representative" may be a union
representative; however, it cannot be the contractor's representative
or personnel officer.
- The contractor submits the completed SF-1444 to the contracting
officer. The contracting officer reviews the form
for completeness, and signs the agency's concurrence or disagreement
with the contractor's proposal. A statement supporting a
recommendation for different rates may accompany any indication
of disagreement.
- The contracting officer then submits the request to DOL for
approval. The contractor must pay the proposed wage and benefit
rate pending response from DOL. When DOL responds to the contracting
officer, the contracting officer provides a copy of the response
to the contractor with instructions to provide each employee
a copy or to post it in the work area (with the applicable
WD). The prime contractor must provide a copy of the determination to subcontractor(s), if any, that may employ workers in the conformed classification under the contract. If DOL responds with an approved rate that is higher than
the rate proposed by the contractor, the contractor must pay
such rate retroactive to the start of performance of that craft.
The contracting officer should request written confirmation
from the contractor that this liability has been paid in full.
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