Davis-Bacon/Prevailing wage

[fbhwt]

Could someone help me understand how an unscrupulous contractor/subcontractor could avoid paying his men the prevailing wage on a job that was covered by the Davis-Bacon act. I just now received confirmation on one job that I worked on was covered by Davis-Bacon and there is more to come. It seems that with all the checks and balances in place that this would be hard to do. I am up to my eyebrows in this, I would like to understand how it could happen.

 

[prh1700]

Sounds like it was a government job. The government contract representative [their words not mine] is supposed to check the pay records weekly to insure the DB Act is being followed. That is a seriuos thing with them. I have seen more than one contractor thrown off a job if it wasn't followed. This sounds like the government representative was not doing his job...Imagine that! If your pay was shorted, you can start by checking with the government contracting office that awarded the job.

 

[benaround]

It does not have to be a goverment job, We just finished a 'CostCo' and it was a prevailing

wage job.

 

[fbhwt]

29 cfr 3.3

29 cfr 3.3

Sounds like it was a government job. The government contract representative [their words not mine] is supposed to check the pay records weekly to insure the DB Act is being followed. That is a seriuos thing with them. I have seen more than one contractor thrown off a job if it wasn't followed. This sounds like the government representative was not doing his job...Imagine that! If your pay was shorted, you can start by checking with the government contracting office that awarded the job.

It was, they were, and I know what the government is suppose to do, they didn't, so how does this happen, are they all turning there heads, somebody falsifying records. Check out
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_3/29CFR3.3.htm

 

[mkgrady]

There are serious ramifications for an employer not paying the prevailing wage on a project covered by the Davis-Bacon Act. However it is rather simple to do. The employer submits weekly payroll reports that indicate each employee is receiving the wages mandated by the wage decision and the hours they worked. If nobody bothers to verify the employees are actually receiving the correct wage then the employer gets away with it.

As long as there is a balance owed by the feds to the prime contractor your money is pretty much garanteed. You do have to make the contracting officer aware of your claim. If the ontract has been paid in full and the contractor is out of business you may out of luck. I hope you kept track of your hours when you worked on those jobs and how much you were paid for those hours.

 

[nakulak]

as stated above, the gov contracting office can "remedy" the situation (by threatening the offending contractor with a heavy hand of remedies). However, you might want to first contact the project manager for the general contractor. It is in their best interest to make the subcontractor compliant, because once the doo doo hits the fan, everyone from the gc down looks bad. The subcontractor WILL comply, because the alternatives can get serious.

 

[fbhwt]

There are serious ramifications for an employer not paying the prevailing wage on a project covered by the Davis-Bacon Act. However it is rather simple to do. The employer submits weekly payroll reports that indicate each employee is receiving the wages mandated by the wage decision and the hours they worked. If nobody bothers to verify the employees are actually receiving the correct wage then the employer gets away with it.

As long as there is a balance owed by the feds to the prime contractor your money is pretty much garanteed. You do have to make the contracting officer aware of your claim. If the ontract has been paid in full and the contractor is out of business you may out of luck. I hope you kept track of your hours when you worked on those jobs and how much you were paid for those hours.

The jobs in question are complete, and far as I know are paid in full, although the company that I use to work for, the one that didn't pay me the prevailing wage at the time the work was done is doing another job that is prevailing wage for the government. I worked on that job for a few days, thats how this all got started, the contractor on the job did what he was suppose to do by informing me, and showed me the the wage determination, I read about the Davis-Bacon Act, then I got thinking about the other jobs, I asked my boss and he told me they were not. He lied. Now I'm wondering since he doing another government job can they hold that money and pay me and the other guys that were not paid?

 

[kbsparky]

Jobs done under the Davis-Bacon act are supposed to have certified payrolls to ensure compliance.

I'd be willing to bet that your job classification was altered to allow for the lower wage rate. This happened to me: I was doing electrical work, but was classified as a laborer. I was able to alert the prime contractor in time for an adjustment of wages to be paid out, however.

You might need a lawyer experienced in labor laws to file a proper claim.

The more documentation you have kept, the better your case will be.

 

[fbhwt]

as stated above, the gov contracting office can "remedy" the situation (by threatening the offending contractor with a heavy hand of remedies). However, you might want to first contact the project manager for the general contractor. It is in their best interest to make the subcontractor compliant, because once the doo doo hits the fan, everyone from the gc down looks bad. The subcontractor WILL comply, because the alternatives can get serious.

The Doo Doo has already hit the fan, I've already talked to the U.S. Navy, the contracting agency for the Army where these jobs took place, been on the phone every day for the past month. I'm sure you read my other posts. Big hornets nest, I'm still pokin it.

 

[rcarroll]

I did a DB job Oct. '83. Sometime a year & half later,I was contacted by a gov. official asking what I made during the job.:roll: My employer did pay me the wage & all lived happily ever after.

Ron

 

[fbhwt]

I did a DB job Oct. '83. Sometime a year & half later,I was contacted by a gov. official asking what I made during the job.:roll: My employer did pay me the wage & all lived happily ever after.

Ron

FYI the DOL has a 2 year statute of limitation, they will extent to 3 years if it is willful misconduct.