The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has rejected an expansive Labor Department (DOL) interpretation of coverage of the federal Davis-Bacon Act (DBA), a depression-era law that establishes prevailing wage and benefit requirements for certain federal construction contracts. The D.C. Circuit is often referred to as the second most powerful federal court after the U.S. Supreme Court, and its rulings involving federal regulatory agencies are given considerable deference by the other appeals courts.
This case is notable because it reins in the Labor Department from its tendency to extend the reach of the laws it enforces well beyond what Congress intended. The court’s decision also has direct implications for two Executive Orders recently issued by President Obama that impose wage and leave mandates on federal contractors based in part on DBA coverage.
A copy of the D.C. Circuit’s opinion in District of Columbia v. Department of Labor, No. 1:13-cv-00730 (April 5, 2016), is available here.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.