On December 15, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued All Agency Memorandum (AAM) 235 rescinding AAM 212 and once again confirming that surveying work is not covered by the Davis-Bacon Act. At this time, it is unclear how the new Biden administration DOL will approach this particular situation.
Many may recall AAM 212 (issued March 2013) which extended Davis Bacon coverage to those performing surveying work. It became clear pretty soon thereafter that a distinction had to be made about those who were salaried exempt and supervising the crew versus which tasks and workers which fell under the definition of laborers and mechanic. The Department of Labor received a flood a conformance requests (SF 1444) because surveyor rates did not appear in the applicable local wage determinations. AAM 235 restores the status quo prior to March 2013 and again confirms that surveying work is not covered by Davis Bacon.
For additional resources on the Davis-Bacon Act and the conformance process, visit AGC Labor & HR Topical Resources webpage. The primary category is “Compensation” and the secondary category is “Davis-Bacon Act.” Please remember to sign in with your AGC credentials to access all the resources available. Additionally, the recently updated 5th edition of AGC’s Davis-Bacon Compliance Manual for Federal & Federally Assisted Construction can be purchased here.
For more information, contact Claiborne Guy at claiborne.guy@agc.org or 703-837-5382.