The US Department of Labor (USDOL) has published new Davis-Bacon highway wage determinations (rates) for Vermont's counties. The new wage decisions must be used for all Davis-Bacon projects advertised from this point forward.
All rates have stayed identical to the highway rates published on January 1, 2024, and superseded on March 1, 2024, by USDOL.
There was a change to the Executive Order (EO) language. Please note that neither EO 14026 nor EO 13658 apply to contracts awarded by VTrans or any of its sub-recipients, such as municipalities; they only apply to contracts awarded directly by the federal government.
What are Davis-Bacon and Related Acts?
The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) require payment of local prevailing wages to construction workers performing work on federally funded construction projects. The Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) applies to each federal government or District of Columbia contract in excess of $2,000 for the construction, alteration, or repair (including painting and decorating) of public buildings or public works and requires that contractors and subcontractors pay their laborers and mechanics employed under such contracts no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for corresponding work on similar projects in the area.
Where Do I Learn More?
If you are new to federally funded grants or need a primer on Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, you can review the US Department of Labor's webpage, Wage and Hour Division Davis-Bacon Wage Determination Conformance Request Guide, September 2021. It provides a basic description of the Acts and explains prevailing wages, wage determinations, and the types of construction to which the determinations apply, Nearly all construction projects - highway, water, wastewater, public buildings, etc. - that are funded in whole or in part by federal funds are required to pay a wage defined by USDOL.