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Department of Labor seeks Kentucky highway construction industry’s input to set accurate prevailing wage, fringe benefits for workers

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Wage and Hour Division
October 28, 2024

The U.S. Department of Labor encourages employers and others in Kentucky’s highway construction industry to complete a statewide prevailing wage rates survey to help its Wage and Hour Division establish accurate pay and fringe benefits for workers on federally funded and assisted construction projects.

The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts require the department to set the prevailing wage rates that reflect the actual wages and fringe benefits paid to construction workers in the county where the work occurs.

The survey asks participants to provide information on wages employers paid on highway projects in Kentucky where construction occurred from Nov. 4, 2023, to Feb. 4, 2025. Not limited to federally funded construction projects, survey findings help the division in publishing accurate prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates in areas surveyed. Correct determinations also save contractors time spent requesting additional labor classifications. The department encourages all industry employers and stakeholders to participate.

The division strongly encourages online survey completion by Feb. 4, 2025, and will send notification letters to interested parties and contractors known to the agency with directions on how to access and complete the survey. To request a survey by mail or receive more information, contact the division’s Davis-Bacon Survey Center at (866) 236-2773 or email Davisbaconinfo@dol.gov.

Learn more about the surveys.

The Wage and Hour Division will provide two online briefings at no cost to employers and stakeholders to learn more about the survey process and obtain instructions for survey completion on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7, 2024. Register here to attend an upcoming briefing.

 

USDOL to Offer Online Prevailing Wage Seminars in 2025

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Wage and Hour Division
October 21, 2024

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will offer compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders on the requirements for paying prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

Part of the continuing effort by the division to increase awareness and improve compliance, the two-day seminars will offer sessions on the labor standards protections in the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act, including how the department sets and administers prevailing wages and other topics. Participants can choose among the sessions offered either of the two days.

The upcoming seminars are scheduled on Nov. 13-14, 2024, and from March 18-19, June 25-26 and Sept. 24-25 in 2025.

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Department of Labor offers online seminar on prevailing wages for employers, workers on federally funded projects Aug. 29

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Wage and Hour Division
August 6, 2024

WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor today announced its Wage and Hour Division will offer contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders an opportunity to attend an online seminar on Aug. 29 on requirements for paying prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

Part of the division’s continuing effort to increase awareness and improve compliance, the day-long seminar will offer sessions on the labor standards protections in the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act – including how the department sets and administers prevailing wages – and other topics.

“Prevailing wage laws empower workers by ensuring that federally funded construction and service jobs are good jobs with fair wages and benefits,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “The Biden-Harris administration’s historic investments in our nation’s infrastructure means a significant increase in the number of federal and federally funded projects, and the Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring stakeholders understand the labor standards protections critical to these investments.”

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USDOL to Offer Online Prevailing Wage Seminars

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on
2024 Prevailing Wage Seminars

January 30, 2024

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will offer compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders on the requirements for paying prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

Part of the division’s effort to increase awareness and improve compliance, each day-long seminar will include sessions on the Davis-Bacon Act, Service Contract Act and other related topics. Participants can choose among the sessions offered throughout the day.

The seminars are scheduled on Feb. 27, May 15 and Aug. 29.

While seminar attendance is free, registration is required. Additional information, including links to the sessions for each date, will be provided to participants after registration.

Register Here

 

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Senate confirms Looman as DOL Wage and Hour administrator

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Justin R. Barnes & Jeffrey W. Brecher
10.26.23

The Senate has confirmed Principal Deputy Administrator Jessica Looman as the head of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) by a 51-46 vote.

The WHD enforces the federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as other employment standards and worker protections under other statutes.

Since January 20, 2021, Looman had been serving as the Principal Agency Administrator, a role designated to permit her to lead the WHD while her nomination was pending without triggering litigation. An effort late last year to have Looman confirmed through unanimous consent was unsuccessful.

Previously, Looman served in various capacities in her home state of Minnesota, including as executive director of the state Building and Construction Trades Council, commissioner of the state’s Commerce Department, and deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

This is a key time for the WHD. The Department of Labor proposed new regulations in August that would substantially increase the number of workers who would be eligible for overtime compensation. The key provision of the rulemaking would provide overtime pay to salaried employees earning less than $55,068 annually. If the proposal is finalized, millions more salaried workers could be eligible for overtime compensation. More than 100 business groups have asked Looman to extend the comment period for the new overtime regulations given the significant impact of the proposed rulemaking.

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Department of Labor to hold online seminars to educate current, prospective federal contractors on prevailing wage requirements

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Edwin Nieves
June 14, 2023

The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division will offer online seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders on the requirements for paying prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

Part of the division’s effort to increase awareness and improve compliance, the seminars will include recorded training videos on a variety of Davis-Bacon Act and Service Contract Act topics that participants can view on-demand. The division will then offer live Q&A sessions to provide additional information.

Q&A sessions on compliance issues will be offered as follows:

Davis-Bacon Act: June 27 and Sept. 13.
Service Contract Act: June 28 and Sept. 14.

“Prevailing wage laws are key to ensuring that construction and service jobs are good jobs and that workers on federally funded projects across the country are paid fair wages and benefits,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “Recent investments in our nation’s infrastructure offer us a great opportunity to educate employers so they can compete for new federal contract opportunities and put skilled employees to work in their communities.”

(View Article)

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US Department of Labor Obtains Court Order Preventing Federal Contractor from Retaliating Against, Intimidating Workers on Maryland Projects

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Agency: Wage and Hour Division
Date: August 23, 2022
Release Number: 22-1722-PHI

JAG Contractors Inc. attempted to obstruct federal wage investigation

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prohibit a federal contractor and its owners from retaliating against former and current employees who cooperate with an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.

The division’s probe of the pay practices of JAG Contractors Inc. in Alexandria, and owner Jose Guzman began in February 2022. The company was contracted to build two federally funded projects in Maryland: the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research at Fort Detrick in Frederick, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services site in Windsor Mill.

Investigators determined the company and its owners failed to pay workers on the projects all wages as required for all hours worked in violation of the Davis-Bacon Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. They also learned that JAG either terminated or reassigned employees who complained to the employer’s management about their illegal pay practices or who cooperated with the investigation, from working on the company’s federal projects.

In addition, investigators discovered JAG attempted to obstruct the investigation by falsifying documents, making intimidating statements about workers’ immigration status, and directing employees not to report to work on the day investigators interviewed employees.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the department’s suit against JAG Contractors Inc. and its owner seeks an order that permanently prevents them from violating the FLSA’s anti-retaliation provisions or engaging in other activity protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Workers have the legal right to question their employer’s pay practices, submit a complaint and to take part in a federal investigation without fear of reprisal,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Alfonso J. Gristina in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. “When there are doubts about an employer’s compliance with federal wage and hour laws, we will intervene to ensure that employers respect their workers and their rights.”

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USDOL Wage and Hour Division to Host Prevailing Wage Seminars

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

July 2019

Our 2019 seminars will be held in the following locations:

  • Sacramento, CA, July 23rd – 25th
  • Washington, DC, August 13th – 15th
  • Indianapolis, IN, August 27th – 29th

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

  • The Davis-Bacon Act and McNamara O’Hara Service Contract Act
  • Executive Order 13495 “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers”
  • 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

If you have any questions please email WHD-PWS@dol.gov

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US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division Prevailing Wage Seminars

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

DESCRIPTION

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Prevailing Wage Seminars are three-day compliance trainings designed for regional stakeholders (private contractors, state agencies, unions, federal agencies and workers).

The first two days of the seminar will consist of either courses on the Davis-Bacon Act or the Service Contract Act. The third day will feature courses concerning the Executive Orders and subject matter related to both the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act as well as presentations from other agencies such as OSHA, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

We have selected the following locations for our 2018 seminars:

Venues will be announced at a later date. If you would like to receive email updates about our seminars, please sign up for our mailing list here. (In the category “Wage and Hour” select “WHD – Prevailing Wage Seminar Announcements”)

For any questions please contact WHD-PWS@dol.gov 

(Visit DOL’s WHD Website)

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
September 02, 2017

President Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration:

Cheryl Marie Stanton of South Carolina to be Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor.

Ms. Stanton currently serves as the Executive Director for the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, a position to which she was appointed in 2013 by then-Governor Nikki R. Haley. Prior to that role, Ms. Stanton worked as a labor and employment attorney in both the public and private sectors. In the public sector, she served as Associate White House Counsel for President George W. Bush. In that role, Stanton was the administration’s principal liaison to the U.S. Department of Labor, National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Ms. Stanton also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She received her J.D. from the Law School at the University of Chicago and her B.A. from Williams College. In 2016, then-Governor Nikki R. Haley awarded Ms. Stanton the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor in the State of South Carolina.

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