[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3827 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3827
To ensure that contractor employees on Army Corps projects are paid
prevailing wages as required by law, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 5, 2023
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Norcross) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Education and
the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure that contractor employees on Army Corps projects are paid
prevailing wages as required by law, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Our Workers Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 (40 U.S.C. 3141 et seq.)
requires that contractors and subcontractors on certain
government projects pay construction workers locally prevailing
wages as determined by the Department of Labor.
(2) Locally prevailing wages vary by job classification and
consist of a basic hourly rate of pay and benefits.
(3) Generally, the Davis-Bacon Act applies to projects that
meet the following three criteria:
(A) There is a contract for construction in excess
of $2,000.
(B) The United States or the District of Columbia
is a party to the contract.
(C) The contract is for construction, alteration,
or repair of a public building or public work.
(4) Under the Davis-Bacon Act, the Government may terminate
a contract if locally prevailing wages have not been paid to
employees working on the project.
(5) For 90 years, the Davis-Bacon Act has helped ensure
quality craftsmanship on Federal projects, protected the
standard of living of skilled and trained blue-collar
construction workers, improved workplace safety by discouraging
``fly-by-night'' contractors from bidding, incentivized
workforce training, and stimulated the economy.
(6) The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor
administers the Davis-Bacon Act by, among other things,
determining prevailing wage rates and prescribing regulations
and standards to be observed by contracting agencies.
(7) Contracting agencies, such as the Corps of Engineers,
however, have the primary day-to-day responsibility for
enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act and its labor standards
requirements pursuant to subparts 22.406 and 22.407 of the
Federal Acquisition Regulation and part 5 of title 29, Code of
Federal Regulations and Reorganization Plan No. 14 of 1950 (5
U.S.C. app.).
(8) Some irresponsible contractors and subcontractors often
avoid their prevailing wage obligations by, among other things,
engaging in craft misclassification.
(9) Craft misclassification refers to the practice in which
contractors misclassify high-skilled workers as general
laborers or other classifications in order to avoid paying the
higher prevailing wage rate applicable to the high-skilled work
actually performed.
(10) As part of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92), Congress directed the
Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on
the contracting practices of the Army Corps of Engineers.
(11) The Government Accountability Office (GAO) published
their report on this study on March 10, 2021, with
recommendations to the Army Corps of Engineers to ensures
contractor employees are paid prevailing wages as required by
the Davis-Bacon Act.
(12) In their report, GAO found that from Fiscal Years 2015
to 2019, there were five times as many subcontractors, compared
to prime contractors, found to be in violation of the Davis-
Bacon Act. None were recommended to the Department of Labor for
debarment from receiving future contracts.
(13) GAO found that the Army Corps of Engineers
Headquarters guidance to their 38 districts lacks sufficient
information to ensure consistent monitoring of contractors'
compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act from one Army Corps
district to the next.
SEC. 3. ENSURING THAT CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES ON ARMY CORPS PROJECTS ARE
PAID PREVAILING WAGES AS REQUIRED BY LAW.
The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works shall provide
to each Army Corps district clarifying, uniform guidance with respect
to prevailing wage requirements for contractors and subcontractors of
the Army Corps that--
(1) conforms with the Department of Labor's regulations,
policies, and guidance with respect to the proper
implementation and enforcement of subchapter IV of chapter 31
of title 40, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Davis-
Bacon Act'') and other related Acts, including the proper
classification of all crafts by Federal construction
contractors and subcontractors;
(2) directs Army Corps districts to investigate worker
complaints and third-party complaints within 30 days of the
date of filing; and
(3) instructs Army Corps districts that certified payroll
reports submitted by contractors and subcontractors and the
information contained therein shall be publicly available and
are not exempt from disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5,
United States Code.
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