ABC Urges Full Repeal of Davis-Bacon Rule Changes
ABC welcomes DOL's legal retreat but urges repeal of the 2023 Davis-Bacon rule reforms.
Associated Builders and Contractors welcomed the U.S. Department of Labor’s decision to stop defending portions of a lawsuit challenging key provisions of the Biden administration’s 2023 Davis-Bacon final rule but said the agency must go further by rescinding the rule in its entirety.
“ABC appreciates the DOL’s decision to withdraw its defense of these provisions,” said Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of government affairs. “This is a win for the construction industry, taxpayers and the rule of law. The decision acknowledges that the previous administration exceeded its legal authority by attempting to expand Davis-Bacon requirements beyond what Congress intended.”
While applauding the decision, ABC emphasized that most of the 2023 rule remains in effect and continues to impose unnecessary costs and regulatory burdens on contractors.
“The vast majority of the Biden administration’s Davis-Bacon rule remains in place,” Swearingen said. “The rule continues to distort prevailing wage surveys, discourage small business participation in federal contracting and drive up construction costs for taxpayers.
“ABC urges the DOL to rescind the 2023 final rule and pursue practical, lawful reforms to prevailing wage regulations that reduce red tape and improve the delivery of critical federal construction projects. ABC will also continue its efforts in court to overturn the rule.”
The department’s decision prevents the expansion of prevailing wage requirements to certain off-site manufacturing facilities, delivery truck drivers spending any amount of time on a jobsite and the retroactive application of the rule to existing contracts. Other provisions of the 2023 Davis-Bacon final rule remain in effect.
The decision stems from litigation filed by the Associated General Contractors of America in November 2023.
The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 requires contractors and subcontractors performing work on federal and federally assisted construction projects to pay workers prevailing wages and fringe benefits established by the federal government.
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