,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #babb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #h1 #bjai ,mr4
 ,smith of ,new ,jersey 7for himself and
 ,mr4 ,norcross7 introduced the         
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,transportation and   
,infrastructure1 and in addition to the 
,committee on ,education and ,labor1 for
 a period to be subsequently determined 
by the ,speaker1 in each case for       
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
require the ,comptroller ,general of the
 ,united ,states to carry out a study on
 the contracting practices of the ,corps
 of ,engineers1 with a specific focus on
 how the ,corps complies with and       
enforces the requirement to pay         
prevailing wages on federally financed  
construction jobs4  #a4 ,short title    
,this ,act may be cited as the ,protect 
,our ,workers ,act4  #b4 ,findings ,the 
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    

,the ,davis-,bacon ,act of #aica 7#dj   
,u4,s4,c4 #cada et seq47 requires that  
contractors and subcontractors on       
certain government projects pay         
construction workers locally prevailing 
wages as determined by the ,department  
of ,labor4  7#b7 ,locally prevailing    
wages vary by job classification and    
consist of a basic hourly rate of pay   
and benefits4  7#c7 ,generally1 the     
,davis-,bacon ,act applies to projects  
that meet three criteria-- 7,a7 there is
 a contract for construction in excess  
of #b1jjj2  7,b7 the ,united ,states or 
the ,district of ,columbia is a party to
 the contract2 and  7,c7 the contract is
 for construction1 alteration1 or       
repair4  7#d7 ,under the ,davis-,bacon  
,act1 the ,government may terminate a   
contract if locally prevailing wages    
have not been paid to employees working 
on the project4  7#e7 ,for close to #ij 
years1 this law has helped ensure       
quality craftsmanship on ,federal       
projects1 protected the standard of     

living of skilled and trained           
blue-collar construction workers1       
improved workplace safety by            
discouraging low-road contractors from  
bidding1 and stimulated the economy4    
7#f7 ,the ,wage and ,hour ,division of  
the ,department of ,labor administers   
the ,davis-,bacon ,act by1 among other  
things1 determining prevailing wage     
rates and prescribing regulations and   
standards to be observed by contracting 
agencies4  7#g7 ,contracting agencies1  
such as the ,corps of ,engineers1       
however1 have the primary day-to-day    
responsibility for enforcement of the   
,davis-,bacon ,act and its labor        
standards requirements4 ,see1 e4g41     
subparts #bb4djf and #bb4djg of the     
,federal ,acquisition ,regulation4  7#h7
 ,some irresponsible contractors and    
subcontractors often avoid their        
prevailing wage obligations by1 among   
other things1 engaging in craft and     
independent contractor                  
misclassification4  7#i7 ,craft         

misclassification refers to the practice
 in which contractors misclassify       
high-skilled workers as general laborers
 or other classifications in order to   
avoid paying the higher prevailing wage 
rate applicable to the high-skilled work
 actually performed4  7#aj7 ,independent
 contractor misclassification refers to 
the practice in which contractors       
misclassify employees as independent    
contractors to avoid paying prevailing  
wages1 reduce labor costs1 and avoid    
,state and ,federal taxes4  7#aa7 ,this 
practice denies workers access to       
federally prescribed prevailing wages   
for the work done and related benefits4 
,communities also suffer because        
misclassification results in lower tax  
revenues for ,federal1 ,state1 and local
 governments4  7#ab7 ,in #bjjj1 the     
,department of ,labor commissioned a    
study to determine the extent of        
misclassification1 and found that up to 
#cj percent of audited firms had        
employees misclassified as independent  

contractors4  7#ac7 ,in light of the    
intended ,federal investment for        
military construction projects for      
fiscal year #bjbj1 it is appropriate to 
investigate the compliance of the ,corps
 of ,engineers with the requirements of 
the ,davis-,bacon ,act4  #c4 ,,gao study
  7a7 ,study required ,the ,comptroller 
,general of the ,united ,states shall   
conduct a study on the contracting      
practices of the ,corps of ,engineers1  
with a specific focus on how the ,corps 
of ,engineers complies with and enforces
 the requirement to pay prevailing wages
 on federally financed construction     
jobs1 as required by subchapter ,,iv of 
chapter #ca of title #dj1 ,united       
,states ,code 7commonly referred to as  
the ,davis-,bacon ,act74 ,the study     
shall consider the following3  7#a7 ,any
 programs or protocols the ,corps of    
,engineers has in place for the purpose 
of carrying out its ,davis-,bacon ,act  
enforcement obligations as set forth in 
the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation4  

7#b7 ,any programs or protocols the     
,corps of ,engineers has in place for   
the purpose of identifying and          
addressing independent contractor       
misclassification on projects subject to
 the ,davis-,bacon ,act4  7#c7 ,the     
frequency with which the ,corps of      
,engineers conducts site visits on each 
covered project to monitor ,davis-,bacon
 ,act compliance4  7#d7 ,the frequency  
with which the ,corps of ,engineers     
monitors certified payroll reports      
submitted by contractors and            
subcontractors on each covered project4 
7#e7 ,whether the ,corps of ,engineers  
accepts and investigates complaints of  
,davis-,bacon ,act violations submitted 
by third parties1 such as contractors   
and workers' rights organizations4  7#f7
 ,whether the ,corps of ,engineers      
maintains a database listing all        
contractors and subcontractors who have1
 in one way or another1 violated the    
,davis-,bacon ,act and whether the      
,corps consults this database as part of

 its contract award process4  7#g7 ,the 
frequency1 over the last five years1    
with which the ,corps of ,engineers     
penalized1 disqualified1 terminated1 or 
moved for debarment of a contractor for 
,davis-,bacon violations4  7#h7 ,how the
 ,corps of ,engineers verifies that the 
contractors it hires for its projects   
are properly licensed4  7b7 ,report to  
,congress ,not later than #a year after 
the date of enactment of this ,act1 the 
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall submit to the ,committee  
on ,education and ,labor1 the ,committee
 on ,armed ,services1 and the ,committee
 on ,transportation and ,infrastructure 
of the ,house of ,representatives and   
the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1  
,labor1 and ,pensions1 the ,committee on
 ,armed ,services1 and the ,committee on
 ,commerce1 ,science1 and               
,transportation of the ,senate a report 
that summarizes the results of the study
 required under subsection 7a71 together
 with any recommendations for           

legislative or regulatory action that   
would improve the efforts of enforcing  
the requirement to pay prevailing wages 
on federally financed construction jobs4