In the last issue of the Construction Focus, we set forth the proposal of the Department of Labor to expand Davis-Bacon Act coverage to premises that are not physically a part of the site of the work. This is the Department of Labor’s response, as issued at the end of the Democratic administration, to the ongoing dispute with the courts over what is the coverage under the Davis-Bacon Act.
The Davis-Bacon Act establishes prevailing rate requirements for federal and federally assigned construction projects. The Act specifically states it applies to prevailing rates to be paid on the “site of the work.” Over the years, the courts have struck down efforts to expand coverage beyond that site. Undoubtedly, the Department of Labor is trying again. The Department of Labor acknowledges this rule has expanded this definition to include material and supply sources, tool yards, job headquarters and the like “where they are dedicated to the covered construction project and are adjacent, or
