Davis Bacon Related Acts

Sub-contractors for prevailing wage projects should file their paperwork with the project’s General Contractor. The NC General Contract submits this paperwork to the contracting agency.

Prevailing Wage contractors in North Carolina are required to submit certified payroll accounts, which should be provided on a weekly basis. Other contracting agencies may require additional documents, which you should be aware of.

There is no state mandated apprenticeship regulation in North Carolina. The state does not require the request of apprentices and a general training fund. If the contractor however is contracted with an apprenticeship committee, the contractor must follow the committee’s regulations and must also contribute to its training fund.

It is important to remember that you are required to pay no less than the benefit and wage rates listed in the Davis-Bacon wage decision for the lowest occupation or specialized trade that closely resembles your actual trade. If you find that you have already paid lower than what is stated in your Special Wages Determination when it arrives, you will need to adjust your workers’ payroll accordingly.

You can request for Special Prevailing Wage Determinations from the Wage and Hour Division for your Davis-Bacon project. Davis-Bacon & Related Acts provisions contain a conformance procedure which establishes benefits for classifications that are missing or unlisted.

A Standard Form 308 (SF-308) “Request for Determination and Response to Request” should be used by the agency (normally a federal agency) to request the Wage Determination for a project. The completed SF-308 needs to be submitted to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Wage and Hour Division, Branch of Construction Wage Determinations, Washington, D.C. 20210.

Please Note: A project decision is effective for 180 days and is only applicable to the particular Davis-Bacon project for which it is issued. If the project decision is not used in the period of its effectiveness, it is void. The contractor must submit a Request for Authorization of Additional Classification and Rate (SF1444) to the Contracting Officer or Agency.

Since North Carolina is a Davis-Bacon state, federal Davis-Bacon rules govern it. The prevailing wage rates are good for the lifespan of a project and do not have a predetermined increase. Special determinations however can be awarded per project. The special determinations process take at least 30 days, is specific to a particular prevailing wage job, and may include a pre-determined increase.

You can obtain your prevailing wage determinations in compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act within the bid documents for your project. Please contact your contracting agency or awarding body if the wage determinations is not stated.

The Department of Labor determines the Prevailing Wage in the state of North Carolina. The rate is determined based on the following: the hourly rate paid on public works projects to a majority of workers who are engaged in a particular type of work, classification, or craft, and on workers who are located within the locality or nearest market area. In the event that no single rate applies to the majority, the modal rate being paid to the most number of workers will be followed.

Compliance to the Davis-Bacon Act is being enforced and audited by the contracting government agency. It audits payroll records and hires inspectors to do on-site checks. If there are errors in the investigation, the Department of Labor will be called in to do further enforcement.

It is the contracting agency’s responsibility to ensure that the hired contractors are compliant with the Davis-Bacon Act. In the event that the contractor refuses to comply, the DOL Wage and Hour Division can be called in to do further investigation.

North Carolina does not have its own state prevailing wage law. Public works projects contracted by the state are governed by the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA), and by the Department of Labor.