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 require-
ment 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 fol-
lowing 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 jurisdic-
tion 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 construc-
tion jobs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Our Workers 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(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 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; and 
(C) the contract is for construction, alter-
ation, or repair. 
(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. 
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(5) For close to 90 years, this law has helped 
ensure quality craftsmanship on Federal projects, 
protected the standard of living of skilled and 
trained blue-collar construction workers, improved 
workplace safety by discouraging low-road contrac-
tors from bidding, 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. See, e.g., sub-
parts 22.406 and 22.407 of the Federal Acquisition 
Regulation. 
(8) Some irresponsible contractors and sub-
contractors often avoid their prevailing wage obliga-
tions by, among other things, engaging in craft and 
independent contractor misclassification. 
(9) Craft misclassification refers to the practice 
in which contractors misclassify high-skilled workers 
as general laborers or other classifications in order 
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to avoid paying the higher prevailing wage rate ap-
plicable to the high-skilled work actually performed. 
(10) Independent contractor misclassification 
refers 
to 
the 
practice 
in 
which 
contractors 
misclassify employees as independent contractors to 
avoid paying prevailing wages, reduce labor costs, 
and avoid State and Federal taxes. 
(11) This practice denies workers access to fed-
erally prescribed prevailing wages for the work done 
and related benefits. Communities also suffer be-
cause misclassification results in lower tax revenues 
for Federal, State, and local governments. 
(12) In 2000, the Department of Labor com-
missioned a study to determine the extent of 
misclassification, and found that up to 30 percent of 
audited firms had employees misclassified as inde-
pendent contractors. 
(13) In light of the intended Federal invest-
ment for military construction projects for fiscal 
year 2020, it is appropriate to investigate the com-
pliance of the Corps of Engineers with the require-
ments of the Davis-Bacon Act. 
SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General of 
the United States shall conduct a study on the contracting 
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