SBA’s Comments on Davis Bacon Act Proposed Rule

On May 17, 2022, the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) filed a comment letter recommending that the Department of Labor (DOL) reassess the impact of this rule on small entities in a new Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis. Per SBA, “DOL’s Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is deficient and does not properly inform the public about the impact of this rule on small entities. Additionally, DOL has underestimated the administrative burdens and compliance costs of this complicated regulation.  The proposed rule has definitions that expand coverage of the DBRA to small businesses including prefabrication businesses, material suppliers, truck drivers, demolition companies, flaggers, surveyors, and green technology businesses.  DOL has also underestimated the administrative burdens and compliance costs of this complicated regulation, with the very unlikely low average cost of less than $100 per small business in first year costs. DOL should have also estimated the impact of administrative costs, increased wages, and changes in the enforcement requirements on small businesses.”