Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Sam Cummings of the Northern District of Texas sided with the Associated General Contractors (AGC) by enjoining portions of the Labor Department’s (DOL) recent SWACAA-supported Davis-Bacon Modernization final rule as far as its application to material suppliers, truck drivers, and contracts that are silent as to Davis-Bacon coverage.
In issuing a preliminary injunction, Judge Cummings found that DOL likely went beyond its authority by expanding coverage to certain workers like truck drivers and material suppliers because the Davis-Bacon Act only applies to “mechanics and laborers employed directly on the site of the work.” He also found that DOL didn’t have the power to issue the rule’s provision that applies prevailing wage requirements to contracts that are silent on such requirements by operation of law.