Protect Our Workers Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3827 To ensure that contractor employees on Army Corps projects are paid prevailing wages as required by law, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 5, 2023 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. NORCROSS) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To ensure that contractor employees on Army Corps projects are paid prevailing wages as required by law, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Our Workers 4 Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3827.IH H3827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3827 IH (1) The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 (40 U.S.C. 1 3141 et seq.) requires that contractors and sub- 2 contractors on certain government projects pay con- 3 struction workers locally prevailing wages as deter- 4 mined by the Department of Labor. 5 (2) Locally prevailing wages vary by job classi- 6 fication and consist of a basic hourly rate of pay and 7 benefits. 8 (3) Generally, the Davis-Bacon Act applies to 9 projects that meet the following three criteria: 10 (A) There is a contract for construction in 11 excess of $2,000. 12 (B) The United States or the District of 13 Columbia is a party to the contract. 14 (C) The contract is for construction, alter- 15 ation, or repair of a public building or public 16 work. 17 (4) Under the Davis-Bacon Act, the Govern- 18 ment may terminate a contract if locally prevailing 19 wages have not been paid to employees working on 20 the project. 21 (5) For 90 years, the Davis-Bacon Act has 22 helped ensure quality craftsmanship on Federal 23 projects, protected the standard of living of skilled 24 and trained blue-collar construction workers, im- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3827.IH H3827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3827 IH proved workplace safety by discouraging ‘‘fly-by- 1 night’’ contractors from bidding, incentivized work- 2 force training, and stimulated the economy. 3 (6) The Wage and Hour Division of the De- 4 partment of Labor administers the Davis-Bacon Act 5 by, among other things, determining prevailing wage 6 rates and prescribing regulations and standards to 7 be observed by contracting agencies. 8 (7) Contracting agencies, such as the Corps of 9 Engineers, however, have the primary day-to-day re- 10 sponsibility for enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act 11 and its labor standards requirements pursuant to 12 subparts 22.406 and 22.407 of the Federal Acquisi- 13 tion Regulation and part 5 of title 29, Code of Fed- 14 eral Regulations and Reorganization Plan No. 14 of 15 1950 (5 U.S.C. app.). 16 (8) Some irresponsible contractors and sub- 17 contractors often avoid their prevailing wage obliga- 18 tions by, among other things, engaging in craft 19 misclassification. 20 (9) Craft misclassification refers to the practice 21 in which contractors misclassify high-skilled workers 22 as general laborers or other classifications in order 23 to avoid paying the higher prevailing wage rate ap- 24 plicable to the high-skilled work actually performed. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3827.IH H3827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3827 IH (10) As part of the National Defense Author- 1 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116– 2 92), Congress directed the Comptroller General of 3 the United States to conduct a study on the con- 4 tracting practices of the Army Corps of Engineers. 5 (11) The Government Accountability Office 6 (GAO) published their report on this study on 7 March 10, 2021, with recommendations to the Army 8 Corps of Engineers to ensures contractor employees 9 are paid prevailing wages as required by the Davis- 10 Bacon Act. 11 (12) In their report, GAO found that from Fis- 12 cal Years 2015 to 2019, there were five times as 13 many subcontractors, compared to prime contrac- 14 tors, found to be in violation of the Davis-Bacon 15 Act. None were recommended to the Department of 16 Labor for debarment from receiving future con- 17 tracts. 18 (13) GAO found that the Army Corps of Engi- 19 neers Headquarters guidance to their 38 districts 20 lacks sufficient information to ensure consistent 21 monitoring of contractors’ compliance with the 22 Davis-Bacon Act from one Army Corps district to 23 the next. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3827.IH H3827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3827 IH SEC. 3. ENSURING THAT CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES ON 1 ARMY CORPS PROJECTS ARE PAID PRE- 2 VAILING WAGES AS REQUIRED BY LAW. 3 The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works 4 shall provide to each Army Corps district clarifying, uni- 5 form guidance with respect to prevailing wage require- 6 ments for contractors and subcontractors of the Army 7 Corps that— 8 (1) conforms with the Department of Labor’s 9 regulations, policies, and guidance with respect to 10 the proper implementation and enforcement of sub- 11 chapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 12 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’) 13 and other related Acts, including the proper classi- 14 fication of all crafts by Federal construction contrac- 15 tors and subcontractors; 16 (2) directs Army Corps districts to investigate 17 worker complaints and third-party complaints within 18 30 days of the date of filing; and 19 (3) instructs Army Corps districts that certified 20 payroll reports submitted by contractors and sub- 21 contractors and the information contained therein 22 shall be publicly available and are not exempt from 23 disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, United 24 States Code. 25 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3827.IH H3827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS