Background Image
Previous Page  13 / 48 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 13 / 48 Next Page
Page Background

PCCA Journal|1

st

Quarter 2011

13

News Briefs

News Briefs continued on page 14

O

n November 12, a PCCA

delegation met with

high-ranking officials at

the U.S. Department of

Labor in Washington,

D.C., to explain our members’ problems

with Davis-Bacon Act job classifications

and wage determinations and to seek

the agency’s guidance and assistance

in complying with Davis-Bacon on

contracts financed by federal stimulus

funds. The meeting provided a frank

exchange of problems and needs faced

by both groups and an agreement to

continue working to resolve issues.

The PCCA delegation met with of-

ficials from the Labor Department’s

Wage and Hour Division and described

problems faced by PCCA members as

they bid on broadband projects under

the Obama administration’s American

Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Under

Davis-Bacon, contractors must pay their

laborers and mechanics not less than the

prevailing wage rates and fringe ben-

efits listed in the wage determinations

issued by the Department of Labor for

the classes of laborers and mechanics

employed on similar projects in the area.

Although it is the responsibility of the

contracting agency to ensure that the

appropriate Davis-Bacon wage determi-

nations are included in bid solicitations

and contracts, some of the solicitations

have not included complete wage deter-

minations, and our members are left to

determine on their own which wage de-

terminations will be applied to the work

on which they are bidding. Moreover,

the wage determinations issued by the

DOL often do not include job classifica-

tions that accurately describe the work

performed by our members’ employees,

resulting in inappropriate classifications

and pay rates. Because of these prob-

lems, the PCCA members do not have

the benefit of knowing the applicable

prevailing wage and benefit rates when

bidding for this work, resulting in sig-

nificant commercial risk and uncertainty

in the bidding and contract performance

stages.

The Labor Department officials

listened closely to PCCA’s concerns and

provided background on Davis-Bacon

and the wage determination surveys

used to set rates. They said that job

classifications and wage determinations,

especially on relatively new types of con-

struction like broadband, can be skewed

due to lack of data. They can’t publish a

rate if they don’t have the data.

PCCA will continue to engage DOL on

these issues. The November meeting will

be discussed in greater detail at the up-

coming PCCA Convention in Key Largo,

Fla., which also includes a breakout

session on Davis-Bacon compliance.

The PCCA delegation consisted of Jim

Dillahunty, Henkels & McCoy; Walt Don-

ovan, Quanta Services; Jerrod Henschel,

Michels Corporation; Kevin Mason,

ElectriCom; Todd Myers, Kenneth G. My-

ers Construction; Steve Nielson, Dycom

Industries; Steve Sellenriek, Sellenriek

Construction; and Tim Wagner, PCCA.

PCCA Discusses Davis-Bacon

with Labor Department Officials

PCCA members traveled toWashington, D.C., on November 12 to discuss Davis-Bacon compliance issues with officials from

the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. From left are Kevin Mason, Todd Myers, Jerrod Henschel, Steve Sellenriek,

Steve Nielson, Walt Donovan, Jim Dillahunty, and TimWagner.