I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2122 

To require the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out a 

study on the contracting practices of the Corps of Engineers, with 

a specific focus on how the Corps complies with and enforces the requirement to pay prevailing wages on federally financed construction jobs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2019 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. NORCROSS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Education and 

Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Comptroller General of the United States 

to carry out a study on the contracting practices of 

the Corps of Engineers, with a specific focus on how 

the Corps complies with and enforces the requirement 

to pay prevailing wages on federally financed construction jobs. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Our Workers 

3 Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 (40 U.S.C. 

7 3141 et seq.) requires that contractors and sub8 contractors on certain government projects pay con9 struction workers locally prevailing wages as deter10 mined by the Department of Labor. 

11 (2) Locally prevailing wages vary by job classi12 fication and consist of a basic hourly rate of pay and 

13 benefits. 

14 (3) Generally, the Davis-Bacon Act applies to 

15 projects that meet three criteria— 

16 (A) there is a contract for construction in 

17 excess of $2,000; 

18 (B) the United States or the District of 

19 Columbia is a party to the contract; and 

20 (C) the contract is for construction, alter21 ation, or repair. 

22 (4) Under the Davis-Bacon Act, the Govern23 ment may terminate a contract if locally prevailing 

24 wages have not been paid to employees working on 

25 the project. 


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1 (5) For close to 90 years, this law has helped 

2 ensure quality craftsmanship on Federal projects, 

3 protected the standard of living of skilled and 

4 trained blue-collar construction workers, improved 

5 workplace safety by discouraging low-road contrac6 tors from bidding, and stimulated the economy. 

7 (6) The Wage and Hour Division of the De8 partment of Labor administers the Davis-Bacon Act 

9 by, among other things, determining prevailing wage 

10 rates and prescribing regulations and standards to 

11 be observed by contracting agencies. 

12 (7) Contracting agencies, such as the Corps of 

13 Engineers, however, have the primary day-to-day re14 sponsibility for enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act 

15 and its labor standards requirements. See, e.g., sub16 parts 22.406 and 22.407 of the Federal Acquisition 

17 Regulation. 

18 (8) Some irresponsible contractors and sub19 contractors often avoid their prevailing wage obliga20 tions by, among other things, engaging in craft and 

21 independent contractor misclassification. 

22 (9) Craft misclassification refers to the practice 

23 in which contractors misclassify high-skilled workers 

24 as general laborers or other classifications in order 


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1 to avoid paying the higher prevailing wage rate ap2 plicable to the high-skilled work actually performed. 

3 (10) Independent contractor misclassification 

4 refers to the practice in which contractors 

5 misclassify employees as independent contractors to 

6 avoid paying prevailing wages, reduce labor costs, 

7 and avoid State and Federal taxes. 

8 (11) This practice denies workers access to fed9 erally prescribed prevailing wages for the work done 

10 and related benefits. Communities also suffer be11 cause misclassification results in lower tax revenues 

12 for Federal, State, and local governments. 

13 (12) In 2000, the Department of Labor com14 missioned a study to determine the extent of 

15 misclassification, and found that up to 30 percent of 

16 audited firms had employees misclassified as inde17 pendent contractors. 

18 (13) In light of the intended Federal invest19 ment for military construction projects for fiscal 

20 year 2020, it is appropriate to investigate the com21 pliance of the Corps of Engineers with the require22 ments of the Davis-Bacon Act. 

23 SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 

24 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General of 

25 the United States shall conduct a study on the contracting 


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1 practices of the Corps of Engineers, with a specific focus 

2 on how the Corps of Engineers complies with and enforces 

3 the requirement to pay prevailing wages on federally fi4 nanced construction jobs, as required by subchapter IV 

5 of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code (commonly 

6 referred to as the Davis-Bacon Act). The study shall con7 sider the following: 

8 (1) Any programs or protocols the Corps of En9 gineers has in place for the purpose of carrying out 

10 its Davis-Bacon Act enforcement obligations as set 

11 forth in the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

12 (2) Any programs or protocols the Corps of En13 gineers has in place for the purpose of identifying 

14 and addressing independent contractor 

15 misclassification on projects subject to the Davis16 Bacon Act. 

17 (3) The frequency with which the Corps of En18 gineers conducts site visits on each covered project 

19 to monitor Davis-Bacon Act compliance. 

20 (4) The frequency with which the Corps of En21 gineers monitors certified payroll reports submitted 

22 by contractors and subcontractors on each covered 

23 project. 

24 (5) Whether the Corps of Engineers accepts 

25 and investigates complaints of Davis-Bacon Act vioVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2122.IH H2122

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1 lations submitted by third parties, such as contrac2 tors and workers’ rights organizations. 

3 (6) Whether the Corps of Engineers maintains 

4 a database listing all contractors and subcontractors 

5 who have, in one way or another, violated the Davis6 Bacon Act and whether the Corps consults this 

7 database as part of its contract award process. 

8 (7) The frequency, over the last five years, with 

9 which the Corps of Engineers penalized, disqualified, 

10 terminated, or moved for debarment of a contractor 

11 for Davis-Bacon violations. 

12 (8) How the Corps of Engineers verifies that 

13 the contractors it hires for its projects are properly 

14 licensed. 

15 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

17 General of the United States shall submit to the Com18 mittee on Education and Labor, the Committee on Armed 

19 Services, and the Committee on Transportation and Infra20 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, the 

22 Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on 

23 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

24 report that summarizes the results of the study required 

25 under subsection (a), together with any recommendations 


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1 for legislative or regulatory action that would improve the 

2 efforts of enforcing the requirement to pay prevailing 

3 wages on federally financed construction jobs. 

Æ 


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