Is there a difference between Federal Davis Bacon and State Prevailing Wage Laws?
Yes. Davis Bacon applies to federally funded projects. State Prevailing Wage Laws, sometimes referred to as the Little Davis Bacon Laws, apply to jobs using state or local taxpayer dollars. Why are these laws necessary? Contracts funded with taxpayer dollars are required to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. This prevented elected and appointed officials from awarding contracts to family and friends. But, the requirement that the work be awarded to the lowest bidder also created other problems. Employers from the south were using low wage workers from the south to enable them to underbid local contractors and their employees. Those employers and their workers added nothing to the local economies. They took their paychecks and their profits and left. Why wouldnt taxpayers want to use those workers with the lowest wage? Sometimes the lowest wage does not translate into the best value. If employers are forced to compete on the basis of who can find the cheapest workers either lo
