Labor Standards for Government Contracts

¶ … Labor Agreements (FAR Part 22.5): Applicable laws There are three major labor laws which affect government construction projects. The Davis Bacon Act stipulates a specific wage floor for all workers, namely that "no laborer or mechanic employed directly upon the site of the work shall receive less than the prevailing wage rates as determined by the Secretary of Labor" for that particular area ("Subpart 22.4: Labor Standards for Contracts Involving Construction," 2). This ensures that a contractor will not profit off a government contract by paying an unfair, substandard wage to its employees.

The Department of Labor is responsible for making general wage determinations based upon type of occupation and other aspects of the project. Wage determinations can be appealed if they are deemed to be in error.

"If a contract is awarded without the required wage determination (i.e., incorporating no determination, containing a clearly inapplicable general wage determination, or containing a project determination which is inapplicable because of an inaccurate description of the project or its location), the contracting officer shall initiate action to incorporate the required determination in the contract immediately upon discovery of the error" ("Subpart 22.4: Labor Standards for Contracts Involving Construction," 5).

The Copeland Act, also known as the Anti-Kickback Act, was designed to protect employees by making it "unlawful to induce, by force, intimidation, threat of procuring dismissal from employment, or otherwise, any person employed in the construction or repair of public buildings or public works, financed in whole or in part by the United States, to give up any part of the compensation to which that person is entitled under a contract of employment" ("Subpart 22.4: Labor Standards for Contracts Involving Construction," 2).

This is designed to prevent inflated invoices regarding employee wages which defraud both the federal government and the employee from his or her rightful earnings. The Copeland Act also mandates record-keeping standards to ensure compliance and reduce corruption. It "requires each contractor and subcontractor to furnish weekly a statement of compliance with respect to the wages paid each employee during the preceding week" ("Subpart 22.4: Labor Standards for Contracts Involving Construction," 2).

The third major law which applies to all federal construction contracts is that of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act which requires that certain specific types of contracts contain a clause mandating "that no laborer or mechanic doing any part of the work contemplated by the contract shall be required or permitted to work more than 40 hours in any workweek unless paid for all additional hours at not.