On June 24, 2024, a federal district court judge enjoined parts of the United States Department of Labor’s August 23, 2023 prevailing wage rule that greatly expanded the definition of “construction” on federal prevailing wage projects. Such expansion of what constitutes covered “construction” work on federal prevailing wage projects was never contemplated by the actual federal prevailing law itself (the Davis-Bacon Act or DBA). In a fairly scathing rebuke of the US DOL’s 2023 rule, the court found “…[the US DOL]… usurped Congress’ law-making power and attempted substantive amendments to the DBA. Presidents and their agencies act ultra vires and do violence to the Constitution when they attempt to unilaterally amend Acts of Congress to suit their policy choices…” Interestingly, the court’s decision came before the US Supreme Court eliminated the Chevron deference doctrine.
