Prevailing Wage Seminars and Videos

On August 23, 2023, the Department published in the Federal Register the final rule, "Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations." The final rule took effect on October 23, 2023. On June 24, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction impacting three provisions of the final rule. These provisions may not be implemented or enforced at this time. Read more about the injunction.

Sign up for virtual seminars

The Wage and Hour Division will offer virtual prevailing wage seminars to provide training and outreach on topics such as the Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, Executive Orders 13658 and 13706, wage determinations and conformances, and compliance assistance and enforcement processes. For more information and compliance assistance resources on prevailing wages, please visit the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts webpage.

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The Wage and Hour Division Prevailing Wage Seminars are compliance trainings designed for regional stakeholders (e.g., unions, private contractors, state agencies, federal agencies, workers). In these seminars, conference participants will learn about the following:

Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act
Executive Order 13658, "Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors"
The process of obtaining wage determinations and adding classifications
Compliance assistance and enforcement processes
The process for appealing wage rates, coverage, and compliance determinations

Videos on prevailing wage topics

Davis-Bacon and Related Acts

View our videos on various Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Act topics.

When Are Federal Contracts Covered?

To ensure compliance, it is important to be able to identify contracts that are subject to the labor standards provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act at the earliest possible point in the contracting process. This video provides an overview of the requirements that must be met for the labor standards provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act to apply to a contract.

When Are Federal Contracts Covered

When Are Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wages Required on Federally Assisted Contracts?

Many federal laws that authorize federal assistance for construction projects require funding recipients to comply with the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements. This video provides an overview of Davis-Bacon coverage under such laws, commonly referred to as Davis-Bacon Related Acts.

When Are Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wages Required on Federally Assisted Contracts

What is "Construction, Alteration, Or Repair?"

The Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements generally only apply to contracts for construction, alteration, or repair. This video explains when work is considered to be within the definition of construction, alteration, or repair.

What is Construction Alteration or Repair

Where is the Site of the Work?

Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements generally apply to laborers and mechanics only when they are working on a site of the work. This video explains when a location is considered to be a site of the work.

Where is the Site of the Work

DBRA Wage Determinations - A General Overview

Compliance with the Davis-Bacon labor standards provisions requires knowing which wage determinations are applicable. This video describes how to identify the correct wage determination(s) for a project and when multiple wage determinations may be applicable to a project.

DBRA Wage Determinations: General Overview

Reading and Interpreting DBRA Wage Determinations

Wage determinations provide important information about the prevailing wage rates applicable to various projects. This video discusses how to interpret the information contained within DBRA wage determinations.

DBRA Reading and Interpreting Wage Determinations

DBRA Wage Determinations - Conformances and Appeals Process

When a contractor performs work on a DBA-covered contract and the applicable wage determination does not provide a rate for a classification of work to be performed, the needed classification and wage rate must be added in conformance to the contract wage determination. This video explains the conformance process and how to appeal conformance and wage determination decisions, as well as providing an overview of the resources available on the System Awards Management and Department of Labor websites.

Wage Determinations Conformance and Appeals Process

DBRA Wage Surveys

A wage determination is the result of extensive data collection and analysis. This video describes how the Wage and Hour Division obtains information for its wage surveys and how that information is used to determine the rates in a wage determination.

Wage Determination Surveys

Who Actually Gets Paid Prevailing Wage Rates Anyway?

The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts require the payment of prevailing wage rates to workers who are considered to be laborers and mechanics. This video describes when workers are considered to be laborers and mechanics.

Who Actually Gets Paid Prevailing Wage Rates Anyway

How Do I Pay Prevailing Wages?

The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts require the payment of prevailing wage rates to laborers and mechanics who work on the site of the work on covered contracts. This video discusses contractors’ prevailing wage obligations and their options for meeting those obligations to maintain compliance on their contracts.

How Do I Pay Prevailing Wages

When Can I Claim a Credit for Providing Fringe Benefits to Workers?

The Davis-Bacon labor standards allow contractors to use fringe benefit contributions to meet their prevailing wage obligations, but navigating the different fringe benefit options and calculating the hourly rate of fringe benefit contribution can be complicated. This video will review the different types of fringe benefit plans, describe the requirements for unfunded fringe benefit plans, and explain how to calculate fringe benefit credit, including the annualization of fringe benefit contributions.

When Can I Claim a Credit for Providing Fringe Benefits to Workers

CWHSSA and FLSA on Government Contracts Overtime

When applicable, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act and Fair Labor Standards Act require the payment of additional half-time at the correct rate to covered workers who work over forty hours in the workweek. This video will cover applicability of CWHSSA and FLSA and review common overtime compliance issues to avoid.

CWHSSA and FLSA Overtime and Government Contracts

Compliance Oversight for Contracting Agencies

Over the course of a project, contracting agency oversight is invaluable in maintaining compliance with the DBA labor standards. This video will explain the oversight process and how regular oversight can help identify potential violations.

Compliance Oversight for Contracting Agencies

My Company Is Being Investigated - What Happens Next?

This video will explain the process that the Wage and Hour Division uses to investigate compliance with the Davis-Bacon labor standards and how that process can help identify compliance issues.

My Company is Being Investigated: What Happens Next

Anti-Retaliation

Retaliation against workers or job applicants for engaging in protected activities such as making a complaint or cooperating in a WHD investigation under the DBRA, including CWHSSA, is prohibited. This video provides an overview of what is considered to be prohibited conduct and what remedies may be enforced when retaliation has occurred.

Anti-Retaliation

Why Are Contract Payments Being Withheld?

To protect the rights of covered workers, DBRA statutory and regulatory provisions permit the withholding of contract funds sufficient to satisfy alleged wage underpayments pending resolution of a wage dispute. This video provides an overview of the withholding process.

Why Are Contract Payments Being Withheld