Reconsideration Regarding the Application of the Davis-Bacon Act

The Air Force requested reconsideration of an earlier decision regarding the application of the Davis-Bacon Act to individual members of a partnership, serving as a subcontractor, performing the work of laborers or mechanics on a project subject to the Act. In that decision, GAO held that each member must be paid no less than the prevailing Davis-Bacon wage rates specified in the contract and that the Air Force, the contracting agency, should take whatever steps necessary to ensure compliance with the Act. The pertinent facts of the case were that an Air Force base solicited bids for the repainting of family houses. The contract was awarded to the lowest bidder, the incumbent contractor, resulting in a protest from the second lowest bidder. The protester argued that in the past the Air Force did not require the contractor to comply with the Act's minimum wage requirements and did not intend to make it comply under this contract either; therefore, the contractors had not competed on an equal basis. The Air Force objected to the ruling, stating that the decision was impractical and placed an undue administrative burden on both the contractor and the contracting agency. It pointed out that the Department of Labor had at one time issued a memorandum which applied to the Davis-Bacon Act, but subsequently withdrew the memorandum because of the administrative difficulties it had created for the contractor and the contracting agencies. Therefore, the Air Force has followed its earlier policy of not applying the Act's requirements to working partners. In view of Labor's responsibility in this area, and since Labor withdrew its memorandum, GAO did not insist upon adherence to its prior decision pending action by Labor. Accordingly, the prior decision was modified.