Texas Judge Blocks Bid to Widen Davis-Bacon Rules

A federal court in Texas has struck down key parts of a Biden administration attempt to extend prevailing wage rules beyond construction work, in a setback for the US Department of Labor’s broader regulatory push.

The US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Lubbock Division, ruled on 24 June that three regulatory provisions were unlawful and removed them nationwide. The Department of Labor has since conceded to the final order.

At the heart of the case was an effort to stretch the Davis-Bacon Act — a 1931 law that sets benchmark hourly wages for workers on federally funded construction projects — into areas well beyond its traditional scope.

The Biden administration’s Department of Labor overhauled how prevailing wages are calculated in 2023 and then attempted to extend Davis-Bacon rules beyond construction roles. Industry groups, including the AGC and ABC, pushed back.

The AGC took the matter to court, arguing the administration had gone beyond what Congress authorised. The association challenged attempts to apply prevailing wage rules to materials suppliers operated by contractors or subcontractors, as well as to delivery truck drivers in certain circumstances.

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It also took aim at how the rule treated truck drivers, particularly those who were not mechanics or labourers but spent an undefined, “not de minimis” amount of time on a jobsite. Another point of contention was the attempt to apply Davis-Bacon requirements retroactively to contracts that had not originally included them.

A judge in Lubbock initially blocked the rules from taking effect. The final ruling has now made that block permanent.

Jeffrey D. Shoaf, AGC’s chief executive, said, “Our legal challenge was about the prior administration bypassing Congress and attempting to expand a construction wage law to cover a wide range of manufacturing and shipping operations that was not authorized by that law.”

He added: “AGC respects the purposes underlying the Davis-Bacon Act, and our members recognize the need to comply with Davis-Bacon requirements to the extent authorised by law.”

The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has called on the current administration to go further, arguing that most of the Biden-era changes remain in place despite the court decision.

Kristen Swearingen, ABC’s vice president of government affairs, said: “ABC appreciates the DOL’s decision to drop its defence of part of these regulations,” adding, “In a victory for the construction industry, taxpayers and the rule of law, yesterday’s order recognizes the illegality of former President Joe Biden’s efforts to expand Davis-Bacon requirements beyond the scope Congress set out.”

But she added that “there is much more to be done”, arguing that the remaining rules still distort wage surveys, deter smaller firms from bidding on federal contracts and drive up costs for taxpayers.

“ABC urges the DOL to swiftly rescind the 2023 final rule,” she said, describing it as “a major step towards cutting red tape and improving the federal government’s delivery of critical construction projects.”

The group says it will continue pursuing litigation to overturn the rule in full, leaving the wider battle over federal prevailing wage policy unresolved.

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