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.