On November 7, AGC of America filed a narrowly tailored lawsuit in federal court against the U.S. Department of Labor, challenging the agency’s unlawful expansion of Davis Bacon coverage to:
- Workers in manufacturing or prefabrication facilities miles away from projects;
- Truck drivers; and
- Material suppliers owned and operated by general contractors or subcontractors.
In addition, the association is challenging the retroactive imposition of Davis Bacon requirements where they applied but owners forgot to include them in the contract. All of these are provisions of the massive U.S. DOL Davis Bacon final rule that took effect on new contracts on or after October 23.
“As an industry that largely pays above existing Davis-Bacon rates, our concerns are with the administration’s unconstitutional exercise of legislative power and not with the wage rate themselves,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the chief executive officer of the AGC of America.
The pending lawsuit does not, at this time, alter contractor compliance with the final rule and its changes to Davis Bacon, including the ones AGC is challenging. As such, contractors must comply with the final rule and can access AGC resources for compliance here.
Nevertheless, the association will rigorously litigate this case and will provide updates on critical developments impacting contractors.
For AGC’s full press release and to view the lawsuit complaint, click here.
For more information, contact Claiborne Guy at claiborne.guy@agc.org.