FAR 22.401—Definitions.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 22.401 provides the core definitions used in the Davis-Bacon and related labor standards subpart, and those definitions control how wage requirements are applied on federal construction work. It defines who counts as an apprentice, trainee, laborer or mechanic, and working foreman; what counts as construction, alteration, or repair; what is a public building or public work; what is included in the site of the work, including primary and secondary sites and certain adjacent support facilities; and what wages means, including basic hourly pay and qualifying fringe benefits. These definitions matter because they determine which workers are covered, which locations are subject to prevailing wage rules, and which pay elements can be credited toward wage obligations. In practice, contractors and contracting officers use these definitions to decide whether Davis-Bacon wage determinations apply, whether a worker must be paid prevailing wages, whether a facility or transport activity is part of the covered site, and whether fringe benefits are properly counted. The section is especially important for construction contracts, off-site fabrication tied to the project, apprenticeship compliance, and wage audits or labor standards investigations.
Key Rules
Apprentice status is narrow
An apprentice must either be individually registered in a bona fide apprenticeship program recognized by DOL or a State Apprenticeship Agency, or be in the first 90 days of probationary employment and certified as eligible for probationary apprentice employment. If a worker does not meet these conditions, the worker cannot be treated as an apprentice for wage purposes.
Construction includes related on-site work
Construction, alteration, or repair covers all laborers’ and mechanics’ work on a particular building or work at the site, including alteration, remodeling, on-site installation of off-site fabricated items, painting, decorating, on-site manufacturing or furnishing of materials, and certain transportation between covered sites and dedicated facilities.
Laborer or mechanic is broadly defined
The term includes manual or physical workers, apprentices, trainees, helpers, certain watchmen and guards on covered contracts, working foremen who spend more than 20 percent of the workweek performing laborer or mechanic duties, and anyone actually performing laborer or mechanic duties regardless of the contractual label used. It excludes workers whose duties are primarily executive, supervisory, administrative, or clerical, and persons in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional roles under 29 CFR part 541.
Public building or public work depends on federal authority or funds
A public building or public work is one whose construction, prosecution, completion, or repair is carried on directly by authority of, or with funds of, a Federal agency to serve the general public, regardless of who holds title. This definition is central to determining whether the labor standards apply to a project.
Site of the work includes primary and some secondary sites
The site of the work includes the physical place where the completed building or work will remain and any secondary site in the United States established specifically for the contract or project where a significant portion of the work is constructed. It can also include certain adjacent or virtually adjacent dedicated facilities such as fabrication plants, mobile factories, batch plants, borrow pits, job headquarters, and tool yards.
Permanent supplier facilities are excluded
Permanent home offices, branch plants, fabrication plants, tool yards, and similar facilities whose location and continued operation are not tied to the particular federal project are not part of the site of the work. Likewise, preexisting commercial or material supplier facilities established before bid opening and not on the project site are excluded even if they are dedicated to the project for a period of time.
Trainees must be in approved programs
A trainee is a person registered and receiving on-the-job training in a construction occupation under a program approved in advance by DOL’s apprenticeship and training office as meeting its standards. Without that approval and registration, the worker is not a trainee for purposes of this subpart.
Wages include cash pay and qualifying fringe benefits
Wages means the basic hourly rate plus certain fringe benefit contributions or costs. Fringe benefits count only if they are irrevocably made to a trustee or third person under a bona fide plan, or are provided under an enforceable, financially responsible commitment to a bona fide fringe benefit program.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Identify whether the contract involves a public building or public work and whether the work falls within the covered construction, alteration, or repair definitions. Apply the correct labor standards clauses and wage determinations, and evaluate whether the site of the work or worker classifications trigger Davis-Bacon coverage.
Contractor
Classify workers correctly, pay prevailing wages and allowable fringe benefits, and ensure apprentices and trainees are enrolled in approved programs before being paid at trainee or apprentice rates. Track work performed at the site of the work and at any secondary or adjacent dedicated sites, and maintain records supporting wage and fringe benefit compliance.
Subcontractor
Follow the same wage, classification, and apprenticeship/trainee rules as the prime contractor for all covered work at any tier. Ensure workers performing laborer or mechanic duties are paid according to the applicable wage determination and that any claimed apprentice or trainee status is properly documented.
Agency
Provide the contracting officer with the information needed to determine labor standards coverage and ensure the proper clauses and wage determinations are used. Support enforcement of prevailing wage requirements through oversight, investigations, and coordination with labor standards officials when needed.
Worker/Employee
Perform work consistent with the classification and program status claimed, especially for apprentices and trainees. Workers should understand that actual duties, not job titles, determine whether they are treated as laborers or mechanics under this section.
Practical Implications
These definitions drive whether Davis-Bacon wage requirements apply at all, so coverage analysis starts here before looking at wage rates or payroll rules.
Misclassifying workers is a common compliance problem: calling someone a supervisor, helper, or subcontractor does not remove them from laborer/mechanic coverage if their actual duties are manual or physical.
Apprentice and trainee credits are only valid when the worker is properly registered or certified in an approved program; informal training arrangements usually do not qualify.
The site-of-the-work definition can pull in certain nearby fabrication or support yards, but it also excludes permanent supplier facilities, so location and project dedication must be analyzed carefully.
Fringe benefits are not automatically creditable as wages; contractors need documentation showing the benefit plan is bona fide, enforceable, and financially responsible.
Transportation and off-site fabrication issues often create disputes, especially when materials or portions of the work move between secondary sites and the primary site, so contractors should document where work is performed and why a location is or is not covered.
Official Regulatory Text
As used in this subpart- Apprentice means a person- (1) Employed and individually registered in a bona fide apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Apprenticeship Training, Employer, and Labor Services (OATELS), or with a State Apprenticeship Agency recognized by OATELS; or (2) Who is in the first 90 days of probationary employment as an apprentice in an apprenticeship program, and is not individually registered in the program, but who has been certified by the OATELS or a State Apprenticeship Agency (where appropriate) to be eligible for probationary employment as an apprentice. Construction, alteration, or repair means all types of work done by laborers and mechanics employed by the construction contractor or construction subcontractor on a particular building or work at the site thereof, including without limitations- (1) Altering, remodeling, installation (if appropriate) on the site of the work of items fabricated off-site; (2) Painting and decorating; (3) Manufacturing or furnishing of materials, articles, supplies, or equipment on the site of the building or work; (4) Transportation of materials and supplies between the site of the work within the meaning of paragraphs (1)(i) and (ii) of the "site of the work" definition of this section, and a facility which is dedicated to the construction of the building or work and is deemed part of the site of the work within the meaning of paragraph (2) of the "site of work" definition of this section; and (5) Transportation of portions of the building or work between a secondary site where a significant portion of the building or work is constructed, which is part of the "site of the work" definition in paragraph (1)(ii) of this section, and the physical place or places where the building or work will remain (paragraph (1)(i) in the "site of the work" definition of this section). Laborers or mechanics. - (1) Means- (i) Workers, utilized by a contractor or subcontractor at any tier, whose duties are manual or physical in nature (including those workers who use tools or who are performing the work of a trade), as distinguished from mental or managerial; (ii) Apprentices, trainees, helpers, and, in the case of contracts subject to the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards statute, watchmen and guards; (iii) Working foremen who devote more than 20 percent of their time during a workweek performing duties of a laborer or mechanic, and who do not meet the criteria of 29 CFR part 541 , for the time so spent; and (iv) Every person performing the duties of a laborer or mechanic, regardless of any contractual relationship alleged to exist between the contractor and those individuals; and (2) Does not include workers whose duties are primarily executive, supervisory (except as provided in paragraph (1)(iii) of this definition), administrative, or clerical, rather than manual. Persons employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity as defined in 29 CFR part 541 are not deemed to be laborers or mechanics. Public building or public work means building or work, the construction, prosecution, completion, or repair of which, as defined in this section, is carried on directly by authority of, or with funds of, a Federal agency to serve the interest of the general public regardless of whether title thereof is in a Federal agency. Site of the work. - (1) Means (i) The primary site of the work. The physical place or places where the construction called for in the contract will remain when work on it is completed; and (ii) The secondary site of the work, if any. Any other site where a significant portion of the building or work is constructed, provided that such site is- (A) Located in the United States; and (B) Established specifically for the performance of the contract or project; (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this definition, includes fabrication plants, mobile factories, batch plants, borrow pits, job headquarters, tool yards, etc., provided- (i) They are dedicated exclusively, or nearly so, to performance of the contract or project; and (ii) They are adjacent or virtually adjacent to the "primary site of the work" as defined in paragraphs (1)(i) of "the secondary site of the work" as defined in paragraph (1)(ii) of this definition; (3) Does not include permanent home offices, branch plant establishments, fabrication plants, or tool yards of a contractor or subcontractor whose locations and continuance in operation are determined wholly without regard to a particular Federal contract or project. In addition, fabrication plants, batch plants, borrow pits, job headquarters, yards, etc., of a commercial or material supplier which are established by a supplier of materials for the project before opening of bids and not on the project site, are not included in the "site of the work." Such permanent, previously established facilities are not a part of the "site of the work", even if the operations for a period of time may be dedicated exclusively, or nearly so, to the performance of a contract. Trainee means a person registered and receiving on-thejob training in a construction occupation under a program which has been approved in advance by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Apprenticeship Training, Employer, and Labor Services (OATELS), as meeting its standards for on-the-job training programs and which has been so certified by that Administration. Wages means the basic hourly rate of pay; any contribution irrevocably made by a contractor or subcontractor to a trustee or to a third person pursuant to a bona fide fringe benefit fund, plan, or program; and the rate of costs to the contractor or subcontractor which may be reasonably anticipated in providing bonafide fringe benefits to laborers and mechanics pursuant to an enforceable commitment to carry out a financially responsible plan or program, which was communicated in writing to the laborers and mechanics affected. The fringe benefits enumerated in the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute include medical or hospital care, pensions on retirement or death, compensation for injuries or illness resulting from occupational activity, or insurance to provide any of the foregoing; unemployment benefits; life insurance, disability insurance, sickness insurance, or accident insurance; vacation or holiday pay; defraying costs of apprenticeship or other similar programs; or other bona fide fringe benefits. Fringe benefits do not include benefits required by other Federal, State, or local law.