On federally funded or federally assisted construction projects subject to the Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts (DBRA), compliance responsibility does not end when work is subcontracted. When a prime contract is covered by DBRA, subcontractors at any tier performing covered work are also subject to applicable labor standards requirements. Guidance from the US Department of […]

Keeping up with labor compliance requirements often means tracking annual regulatory updates, and one of those updates is now officially in effect for certain federal contractors. As of May 11, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s latest adjustment to the Executive Order (EO) 13658  took effect. This update increases the minimum wage rates that apply […]

Apprenticeships are gaining renewed attention across public works construction, driven by growing workforce challenges and increased project demand. These pressures help explain why they’ve become such a priority in recent policy changes and requirements. The growing emphasis on apprenticeships is closely tied to two major forces: Together, these pressures have created an urgent need for […]

Across the United States, federal, state, and local agencies are taking a closer look at how contractors handle payroll, worker classification, and prevailing wage compliance. What used to slip through the cracks is now far more likely to be flagged, investigated, and penalized. At the same time, increased infrastructure spending and new legislation have created […]

Current State of U.S. Infrastructure Spending The U.S. Department of Energy’s 17 National Laboratories spread across the Country constitute the federal government’s premier science, technology, and engineering system. Their role is to advance research and develop technologies that support national priorities. The U.S. Government has witnessed significant increases in federal infrastructure spending over the past […]

Public construction projects come with detailed regulations, layered funding requirements, and plenty of documentation expectations. Even when prevailing wage rules seem clear on paper, applying them to real projects can get complicated—and that’s often where the need for clarification begins. We see this firsthand through our Ask the Expert column, where contractors, subcontractors, and agencies […]

Recent changes at the United States Department of Energy (DOE) are reflective of the times. Renaming of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) The U.S. Department of Energy’s 17 National Laboratories spread across the Country constitute the federal government’s premier science, technology, and engineering system. Their role is to advance research, develop next-generation energy and […]

Prevailing wage compliance is commonly understood in terms of certified payroll reporting, verification of wage rates, and fringe benefit tracking. But beneath all of these processes is a critical element: worker classification. If the classification matches the work, then payroll reporting, workforce data, and compliance reporting will normally stay the same. If not, inconsistencies can […]

By now you may have heard that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has enacted a major change to its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program that affects approximately 41,000 minority- and women-owned businesses in the transportation industry. On October 3, 2025, an Interim Final Rule (IFR) took effect, eliminating the long-standing practice of presuming certain […]

Prevailing wage and labor standards investigations are a normal part of doing business on publicly funded construction projects. Even teams with strong compliance programs can find themselves responding to an inquiry triggered by something as simple as a payroll inconsistency, a worker complaint, or a routine audit. The good news: investigations follow recognizable patterns. When […]