Davis Bacon Related Acts

The prevailing wage rates in Iowa are determined by the Department of Labor, and they are based on the hourly rate paid on Iowa public works projects to workers of a certain class, trade, or type of work. The single rate being paid to the majority of workers is considered the prevailing wage determination.

To know the current prevailing wage rates for Iowa, you need to refer to the determinations published by the US Government Printing Office, which can be found here. It is important to use the appropriate wage determination for the given bid spec.

Under the Davis-Bacon Act, you are required to accomplish and send Certified Payroll Reports weekly. Some Iowa contracting agencies can also ask for additional paperwork. You will need to confirm with the contracting agency regarding any other filing requirements.

If you are a sub-contractor in Iowa, you should file your paperwork with the General Contractor of the project. This is because it is the responsibility of the General Contractor to submit the requirements and paperwork to the contracting agency.

General prevailing wage determinations do not have pre-determined increases, and they are applicable for the entire duration of the project.

On the other hand, special determinations in Iowa are specific to the particular job the determination was issued for. Special determinations can also contain pre-determined increases.

In state of Iowa, there are no mandates on apprenticeship regulation, a general training fund or a requirement to request apprentices. However, a contractor must follow the apprenticeship regulations and contribute to the training fund of a committee if they are contracted with a specific apprenticeship committee. Remember that the apprenticeship wages for Davis-Bacon jobs are not part of the wage decision. Instead, they are set by the specific apprentice.

For unlisted or missing classifications, you are obligated to pay no less than the wage rates listed for the lowest specialized trade most similar to the trade in question. This means that if the trade is not listed on the current determinations, you use the prevailing wage rate of the lowest specialized trade that is similar to the trade instead.

For example, if carpentry is unlisted or missing in the published wage decisions, then you can look for a similar specialized trade, such as plumbing, and use that as the marker for prevailing wage. You cannot pay lower than the prevailing wage listed for the similar listing.

If you receive a Special Determination and the wage determined is higher than what you’ve paid, you need to correct your payroll.

Getting a Special Prevailing Wage Determination from the Federal Wage and Hour Division can be done through the request of the Contracting Officer or Agency. There is an existing conformance procedure for unlisted or missing classifications, as contained in the Davis-Bacon & Related Act provisions. This conformance was formulated to establish an enforceable wage and benefit rate for unlisted or missing classifications.

You would need to complete and file a Standard Form 308, “Request for Determination and Response to Request”. Send this form to the Branch of Construction Wage Determinations, Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards Administration, of the U.S. Department of Labor, Washington DC 20210.

The process of requesting a special determination takes at least 30 days.

Note that the project decisions are only applicable to the particular project and are only effective for 180 days. They become void if unused within the given time. The contractor needs to initiate the request by submitting SF1444 “Request for Authorization of Additional Classification and Rate” to the contracting agency.

Yes, there is a branch of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) in Iowa. AGC is a great resource for help in compliance with Davis-Bacon requirements for contractors in Iowa. You can refer to AGC’s website here.