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-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Our Workers 
Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 (40 U.S.C. 
3141 et seq.) requires that contractors and sub-
contractors on certain government projects pay con-
struction workers locally prevailing wages as deter-
mined by the Department of Labor. 
(2) Locally prevailing wages vary by job classi-
fication and consist of a basic hourly rate of pay and 
benefits. 
(3) Generally, the Davis-Bacon Act applies to 
projects that meet the following three criteria: 
(A) There is a contract for construction in 
excess of $2,000. 
(B) The United States or the District of 
Columbia is a party to the contract. 
(C) The contract is for construction, alter-
ation, or repair of a public building or public 
work. 
(4) Under the Davis-Bacon Act, the Govern-
ment may terminate a contract if locally prevailing 
wages have not been paid to employees working on 
the project. 
(5) For 90 years, the Davis-Bacon Act has 
helped ensure quality craftsmanship on Federal 
projects, protected the standard of living of skilled 
and trained blue-collar construction workers, im-
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proved workplace safety by discouraging ‘‘fly-by- 
night’’ contractors from bidding, incentivized work-
force training, and stimulated the economy. 
(6) The Wage and Hour Division of the De-
partment of Labor administers the Davis-Bacon Act 
by, among other things, determining prevailing wage 
rates and prescribing regulations and standards to 
be observed by contracting agencies. 
(7) Contracting agencies, such as the Corps of 
Engineers, however, have the primary day-to-day re-
sponsibility for enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act 
and its labor standards requirements pursuant to 
subparts 22.406 and 22.407 of the Federal Acquisi-
tion Regulation and part 5 of title 29, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations and Reorganization Plan No. 14 of 
1950 (5 U.S.C. app.). 
(8) Some irresponsible contractors and sub-
contractors often avoid their prevailing wage obliga-
tions by, among other things, engaging in craft 
misclassification. 
(9) Craft misclassification refers to the practice 
in which contractors misclassify high-skilled workers 
as general laborers or other classifications in order 
to avoid paying the higher prevailing wage rate ap-
plicable to the high-skilled work actually performed. 
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(10) As part of the National Defense Author-
ization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116– 
92), Congress directed the Comptroller General of 
the United States to conduct a study on the con-
tracting practices of the Army Corps of Engineers. 
(11) The Government Accountability Office 
(GAO) published their report on this study on 
March 10, 2021, with recommendations to the Army 
Corps of Engineers to ensures contractor employees 
are paid prevailing wages as required by the Davis- 
Bacon Act. 
(12) In their report, GAO found that from Fis-
cal Years 2015 to 2019, there were five times as 
many subcontractors, compared to prime contrac-
tors, found to be in violation of the Davis-Bacon 
Act. None were recommended to the Department of 
Labor for debarment from receiving future con-
tracts. 
(13) GAO found that the Army Corps of Engi-
neers Headquarters guidance to their 38 districts 
lacks sufficient information to ensure consistent 
monitoring of contractors’ compliance with the 
Davis-Bacon Act from one Army Corps district to 
the next. 
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SEC. 3. ENSURING THAT CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES ON 
ARMY CORPS PROJECTS ARE PAID PRE-
VAILING WAGES AS REQUIRED BY LAW. 
The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works 
shall provide to each Army Corps district clarifying, uni-
form guidance with respect to prevailing wage require-
ments for contractors and subcontractors of the Army 
Corps that— 
(1) conforms with the Department of Labor’s 
regulations, policies, and guidance with respect to 
the proper implementation and enforcement of sub-
chapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 
Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’) 
and other related Acts, including the proper classi-
fication of all crafts by Federal construction contrac-
tors and subcontractors; 
(2) directs Army Corps districts to investigate 
worker complaints and third-party complaints within 
30 days of the date of filing; and 
(3) instructs Army Corps districts that certified 
payroll reports submitted by contractors and sub-
contractors and the information contained therein 
shall be publicly available and are not exempt from 
disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, United 
States Code. 
Æ 
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