Lawsuit challenges DOL’s methodology for establishing prevailing wages

In a case currently before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Nevada chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America and two other trade associations are challenging prevailing wages established by the Department of Labor (DOL) under the Davis Bacon Act (DBA). The outcome of the case has the potential to restrict the way prevailing wages are determined by the DOL at a time when many jobs covered by the DBA will be created due to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. More broadly, the case fits into the trend where litigants are increasingly challenging the underlying legal authority of agencies to take actions affecting them.

Alleged use of unlawful compensation data
The DBA applies to direct federal contracts for the construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or public works that are for in excess of $2,000. The prevailing wage is designed to be the wage paid to the majority of the mechanics and laborers in the geographic area the federal contract applies to, based on wage survey information, and it’s what mechanics and laborers on contracts covered by the DBA must be paid.