Abstract
The implementation of the Davis-Bacon Act has led to significant changes in the American society. This paper begins by providing a recap of the origin of this Act. The aim of the paper is to explore the purpose that led to its enactment and the key roles it has played in the American society. The Davis-Bacon Act governs wage requirements for contractors, laborers, mechanics, and other American workers who are associated with federally funded projects in the United States. The existence of intuitive and essentially unsound processes of obtaining contracts, recruitment, training, and unfair wage allocation led to the establishment of the prevailing wage law in an attempt to preserve the American society, especially the black folks, from exploitation. The research paper also provides the various requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act that contractors should comply with prior to playing part in any competition for federally funded projects.
Introduction
Davis-Bacon Act can be traced back in the 1920s when there was inherent competition between the minority African-American laborers and exclusionary unions of the white workers who formed the majority of the American workforce. The persistence of unfair competition, especially for construction contracts, led to the implementation of the Bacon Bill that finally gave birth to the Davis-Bacon Act a decade later. The 71st United States Congress enacted the Act, which is also known as the prevailing wage law, on 3 March 1931 in an attempt to protect the American standards of living. The law holds that contractors who service federally funded construction projects should pay their laborers as per the typical wages and fringe benefits that prevail in the local American communities. The Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor (DOL) takes charge of defining the prevailing minimum wage rates for the various construction classifications that include residential, building, highway, and/or heavy construction activities. However, the Act has faced criticism that has led to amendments to resolve difficulties that American workers encounter in other industries. This paper explores the purpose and requirements of the Act.
Purpose of the Davis-Bacon Act
The major purpose of the Davis-Bacon Act was to preserve the American standards of living. Enacted as the primary federal legislation to protect the working terms of nonfederal laborers in America, the Act requires private contractors to pay laborers and prevailing wages that go above 2000 dollars on all state-funded projects. Cavanaugh (2010) reveals that this rate is equivalent to the union wage, especially in urban regions that tend to have considerably higher number of members in unions than in the rural areas. A research conducted by the DOL revealed that the Davis-Bacon Act applies to about 21-percent of all construction contracts in the United States.
Moreover, the Davis-Bacon Act was meant for promotion of fair and cost-effective federal contracting. The Act fostered the development of equity amongst the Americans, especially in the local communities (Cavanaugh, 2010). The Act also led to the implementation of strict legislation that affectedly reduced the artificial depressions of local labor standards that used to occur due to the prevalence of competitive federal contracts. An additional purpose of the Davis-Bacon Act was to improve productivity in the construction industry. Duncan (2011) unveils that the United States government is a chief buyer of construction services, a tendency that has boosted the local economies. The author also reveals that the local investments appreciate the cost-effectiveness of the prevailing wage laws. A study conducted by Bernstein (1993) indicated that the prevailing wage law creates benefits of approximately 2.5 times of the sum that is expended on the real construction projects in San Bernardino, California. The author reveals that workers in the region spend most of their income in the local businesses. As a result, the government collects revenue through the collection of taxes from the local revenue authorities. For this reason, Davis-Bacon Act promotes the development of productive construction industry in the United States.
Furthermore, the US government enacted the law to promote adherence to free market principles within the states. The establishment of the law aimed at promoting sound investment in both corporate and individual businesses. The plan was to warrant effective functioning of the labor market through the facilitation of free market principles and/or making contractors’ contest on well-organized construction bids (Bernstein, 1993). Generally, the US government adheres to the Davis-Bacon Act free market rules by playing a neutral role of leveling wages across all economic sectors without the application of false standards. As a result, the government has promoted economic balance within the United States region.
In addition, the Davis-Bacon Act aimed at promoting the hiring and training of members of the minority groups to promote economic development. The idea was to advocate for discrimination against the minorities in an attempt to protect their human rights. The Act was meant to save every worker, regardless of race or cultural origin, from prejudiced industry practices. The Davis-Bacon Act also promoted the creation of fair waging plans for the African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and women who faced exploitation by the majority whites (Goldfarb & Morrall, 1981). The Davis-Bacon Act was also purposed for the development of a skilled construction labor force throughout the United States. The Act promoted unbiased training of workers to foster safety in workplaces to minimize environmental hazards and health menaces to the local populations. The author reveals that training of laborers and mechanics has also led to the development of quality infrastructure.
Requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act
The requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act apply to both laborers and mechanics. The contracting entities need to meet a number of compliance procedures to satisfy Davis-Bacon Act’s legislation. At the outset, a contractor has to obtain wage determinations and certifications (Cavanaugh, 2010). The Act requires all contractors to outline clearly the wage choices in the bidding and contract documents. The author defines wage determination as a report of wage rates (rated per hour) and fringe benefits for the various categories of laborers and mechanics that is published by the department of labor. The wage determination listing contains various prevailing wage rates for each classification of the varied occupations. The DOL conducts surveys of residential, building, highway, and heavy construction contractors to gather information about wages and fringe benefits that should prevail for laborers and mechanics on the construction projects. The DOL issues a wage determination to all contractors ten days prior to the tender openings for the contracts (Duncan, 2011).
Secondly, the Davis-Bacon Act requires all contractors to meet the contractor payroll requirements. Gujarati (1967) reveals that the Act requires the contractors to pay the prevailing wage rates on a weekly schedule. Moreover, the Davis-Bacon Act demands the contractor to pay the prevailing wages that the DOL determines for respective categories of laborers and mechanics who work for state-funded projects. The author unveils that for each contract above 2000 dollars, the DOL defines the least value of wages that the contractor has to pay the workers according to their classes (Cavanaugh, 2010). The Act requires the recipient and the contractor to retain certified payroll records for a period of not less than three years after the accomplishment of a federal-funded state project. The payroll form has sufficient entries to ensure that the contractor submits detailed information such as business name, payroll number, location of project, worker’s name and identification number, work classification, hours of work and wage rate, gross payment, amount deductible, and fringe benefits among other details. Lastly, the Davis-Bacon Act requires wage recipients to unearth any instances of violation of the prevailing wage law (Duncan, 2011).
Conclusion
The research paper has provided the purpose and requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act and its applicability in the American society. However, the Act has remained a subject of controversy for many Americans who have gone to an extent of asking for invalidation of the Act. Nonetheless, the reevaluation and amendment of the Davis-Bacon Act has altered some of the initial set of regulations that did not take into account the necessities of unskilled workforce. Generally, the Davis-Bacon Act has altered the nature of the American labor markets from a primitive to civilized work environment that is governed by strict laws in an attempt to preserve the American standards of living. Despite the multifaceted criticism that the Act has faced severally, it remains a crucial document within the American history. Nevertheless, the American government should consider further amendments of the Act to suit the dynamics of the 21st century workplace.
Reference List
Bernstein, D.E. (1993). The Davis-Bacon Act: Let’s Bring Jim Crow to an End. Web.
Cavanaugh, A.L. (2010). The Davis-Bacon Act and Other Prevailing Wage Plans. Benefits Law Journal, 23(2), 51-62.
Duncan, K.C. (2011). An Analysis of Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Requirements: Evidence from Highway Resurfacing Projects in Colorado. Web.
Goldfarb, R.S., & Morrall, J.F. (1981). The Davis-Bacon Act: An Appraisal Of Recent Studies. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 34(2), 190-206.
Gujarati, D. N. (1967). The Economics of the Davis-Bacon Act. Journal of Business, 40(3), 303-16.