7 Ways That Davis-Bacon Changes Could Cost Contractors

Ashley Eley Cannady is a partner at Balch & Bingham LLP, a national corporate law firm counseling clients in regulated industries in practice areas including labor and employment, energy, construction, environmental and litigation. Opinions are the authors’ own.

Significant new changes to the Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts will play a critical role as federal contractors consider and prepare for construction projects in 2024, affecting labor and administrative costs as well as how projects are managed.

The DBRA governs wage payment for contractors and subcontractors working on federal and federally assisted construction projects. The changes came at a time when the Department of Labor was projecting a significant increase in the number of industry workers due to sizeable investments in federally funded construction projects made possible by legislation like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

On Oct. 23, the updates to the DBRA went into effect, serving as the first major update to the law in four decades. The Department of Labor’s updates aim to “provide greater clarity and enhance their usefulness in the modern economy.”

DBRA applies to certain federal government/Washington, D.C., contracts where the contract is for more than $2,000 and is for the construction, alteration and/or repair of public buildings or public works.
Covered contractors should expect major economic impact from the new changes. These include:

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