The Biden administration’s recent changes to the Davis-Bacon Act are the most dramatic in a generation. They restore the Labor Department’s definition of prevailing wage that was used until 1983, thereby increasing construction workers’ pay on federally funded projects. The new rule, which goes into effect Oct. 23, also expands types of work and workers covered, and boosts enforcement. The updates boost enforcement and include for the first time protection for whistleblowers, said Peter Crofton, partner and Atlanta section head of the construction law practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell — a cue that the Biden administration plans to enforce the rule more zealously. The rule also broadens agencies’ ability to withhold back pay from contractors, attorney Dan Ramish, a partner at Haynes and Boone’s Northern Virginia office, said in an email.
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