Title: Protect Our Workers Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Protect Our Workers Act
This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on the contracting practices of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, particularly with respect to compliance with the requirement to pay prevailing wages on federally financed construction jobs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2122 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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.

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

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 subcontractors on certain 
        government projects pay construction workers locally prevailing 
        wages as determined by the Department of Labor.
            (2) Locally prevailing wages vary by job classification 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, alteration, 
                or repair.
            (4) Under the Davis-Bacon Act, the Government may terminate 
        a contract if locally prevailing wages have not been paid to 
        employees working on the project.
            (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 contractors from bidding, and stimulated the economy.
            (6) The Wage and Hour Division of the Department 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 responsibility for 
        enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act and its labor standards 
        requirements. See, e.g., subparts 22.406 and 22.407 of the 
        Federal Acquisition Regulation.
            (8) Some irresponsible contractors and subcontractors often 
        avoid their prevailing wage obligations 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 to avoid paying the 
        higher prevailing wage rate applicable 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 federally 
        prescribed prevailing wages for the work done and related 
        benefits. Communities also suffer because misclassification 
        results in lower tax revenues for Federal, State, and local 
        governments.
            (12) In 2000, the Department of Labor commissioned a study 
        to determine the extent of misclassification, and found that up 
        to 30 percent of audited firms had employees misclassified as 
        independent contractors.
            (13) In light of the intended Federal investment for 
        military construction projects for fiscal year 2020, it is 
        appropriate to investigate the compliance of the Corps of 
        Engineers with the requirements 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 practices of the Corps of 
Engineers, with a specific focus on how the Corps of Engineers complies 
with and enforces the requirement to pay prevailing wages on federally 
financed construction jobs, as required by subchapter IV of chapter 31 
of title 40, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Davis-
Bacon Act). The study shall consider the following:
            (1) Any programs or protocols the Corps of Engineers has in 
        place for the purpose of carrying out its Davis-Bacon Act 
        enforcement obligations as set forth in the Federal Acquisition 
        Regulation.
            (2) Any programs or protocols the Corps of Engineers has in 
        place for the purpose of identifying and addressing independent 
        contractor misclassification on projects subject to the Davis-
        Bacon Act.
            (3) The frequency with which the Corps of Engineers 
        conducts site visits on each covered project to monitor Davis-
        Bacon Act compliance.
            (4) The frequency with which the Corps of Engineers 
        monitors certified payroll reports submitted by contractors and 
        subcontractors on each covered project.
            (5) Whether the Corps of Engineers accepts and investigates 
        complaints of Davis-Bacon Act violations submitted by third 
        parties, such as contractors and workers' rights organizations.
            (6) Whether the Corps of Engineers maintains a database 
        listing all contractors and subcontractors who have, in one way 
        or another, violated the Davis-Bacon Act and whether the Corps 
        consults this database as part of its contract award process.
            (7) The frequency, over the last five years, with which the 
        Corps of Engineers penalized, disqualified, terminated, or 
        moved for debarment of a contractor for Davis-Bacon violations.
            (8) How the Corps of Engineers verifies that the 
        contractors it hires for its projects are properly licensed.
    (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the Committee on Education and Labor, the Committee on 
Armed Services, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that 
summarizes the results of the study required under subsection (a), 
together with any recommendations for legislative or regulatory action 
that would improve the efforts of enforcing the requirement to pay 
prevailing wages on federally financed construction jobs.
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