It’s been quite the past few months for news in public works. The Treasury Department and the IRS are tag-team releasing new prevailing wage guidance and a Notice of Proposed Rule Making on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). And most recently, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (USDOL’s) Final Ruling on the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts […]

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or just don’t keep up with public works in general), you’ve probably heard all the noise generated in the last few weeks about the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) announcing the largest round of rule updates to the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) in nearly 40 years. With […]

Amidst all the buzz surrounding the historic updates recently made to the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA), it’s important to not only focus on what it has become, but also recount what it was (and still is – even after the changes go into effect this October 2023). Because the reality is, this is huge […]

After much waiting and anticipation since the notice of proposed rulemaking was first announced over a year ago, it finally happened. Our industry has just experienced the biggest update to the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) in almost 40 years. What does this mean? In this blog we’ll highlight some of the most notable changes […]

Welcome back! Or to those who missed Part 1 or Part 2, hello there! You’ve stumbled across the next installment of a series of blogs discussing common mistakes contractors make on prevailing wage projects. Just like each of the previous blogs on the topic, we will begin by reiterating that there truly is no substitute to […]

Warning: Bad joke on the horizon. Buckle up. Why did the carpenter insist on getting paid the prevailing wage? Answer: Because he couldn’t “saw” himself working for anything less! Okay… so it wasn’t just bad – it was really bad. Like ruin-your-morning-cup-of-coffee kind of bad. But – would you like to know what is neither […]

Welcome to Part 2 of a series of blogs covering common mistakes contractors make on prevailing wage projects. Yes, you heard that right – Part 2. If you missed the first installment, you can check it out here. Let’s face it – public works can be tricky to navigate. But adhering to the guidelines set […]

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law on August 16, 2022. Its objective is to provide tax benefits to project owners who comply with the prevailing wage and apprentice requirements set forth in the law. Compliant “taxpayers” (in the context of the IRA refers to any government agency like an energy utility, school […]

Making mistakes is a part of any learning process. When you are a public works contractor, however… well, let’s just say they might not always be so forgiving. Which is why it can be so important to learn from others’ mistakes before you make them yourself. Most prevailing wage compliance violations can be avoided simply […]

Prevailing wages have been critical to the health of the public works construction industry since the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) was passed 1931. In the broader discussion surrounding the efficacy of regulations, no one really contends that they are not beneficial to workers. After all, who is going to argue that potentially being paid a higher […]