FAR 52.222-6—Construction Wage Rate Requirements.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 52.222-6 implements the Construction Wage Rate Requirements (formerly the Davis-Bacon Act) for covered construction contracts. It tells contractors and contracting officers how to identify the "site of the work," which laborers and mechanics are covered, how often and how much they must be paid, how fringe benefits are treated, how to handle workers who perform more than one classification of work, and where the wage determination and poster must be displayed. It also addresses special rules for secondary sites of the work, transportation between sites, and the treatment of bona fide fringe benefits and weekly/quarterly benefit contributions. In addition, it sets out the process for adding a missing labor classification through conformance, including the conditions the Contracting Officer must verify and the reporting requirement to the Department of Labor when the parties agree on a classification and rate. In practice, this clause is central to wage compliance on federal construction projects because it determines who is covered, what wage rates apply, and how payroll and posting obligations must be administered across the prime contractor and subcontractors.
Key Rules
Define the site of work
The clause applies to laborers and mechanics employed or working upon the "site of the work," which includes the primary site and, if applicable, a secondary site established specifically for the contract in the United States. Certain nearby, dedicated support facilities may also count as part of the site, but permanent home offices and preexisting supplier facilities generally do not.
Pay prevailing wages weekly
Covered laborers and mechanics must be paid unconditionally, at least weekly, and without unauthorized deductions or rebates. Pay must be at least the wage and fringe benefit rates in the applicable wage determination, including any secondary-site wage determination incorporated for the project.
Apply the correct classification
Workers must be paid according to the classification of the work actually performed, not merely their job title or skill level. If a worker performs multiple classifications, the contractor may pay different rates for the time spent in each classification, but payroll records must accurately show the time in each class.
Count bona fide fringe benefits
Employer contributions or reasonably anticipated costs for bona fide fringe benefits can be credited toward the required wage rate, subject to the clause’s rules. Certain contributions made over longer periods may be treated as constructively made during the covered weekly period if they meet the regulatory timing requirements.
Post wage information at the site
The wage determination, including any conformed classifications and rates, and the WH-1321 Davis-Bacon poster must be posted prominently and accessibly at the primary site and any secondary site. The posting obligation applies to both the contractor and subcontractors.
Conform missing classifications
If the wage determination does not list a needed classification, the Contracting Officer must require conformance only when the work is not already covered by another listed classification, the classification is used in the local construction industry, and the proposed rate is reasonably related to the wage determination. If the contractor and affected workers agree on the classification and rate, the Contracting Officer must report the action to the Department of Labor.
No price adjustment for secondary sites
When a wage determination is incorporated for a secondary site of the work, it is effective from the first day work was performed there and is incorporated without any adjustment in contract price or estimated cost. Contractors must therefore plan for wage compliance at secondary sites without expecting a contract modification to cover the added labor cost.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Determine whether the contract requires this clause, identify and incorporate the correct wage determination(s), require conformance when a needed classification is missing, verify the conformance criteria, and report agreed conformed classifications and rates to the Department of Labor.
Contractor
Pay all covered laborers and mechanics the required wages and fringe benefits weekly and without improper deductions, classify workers correctly based on actual work performed, maintain accurate payroll records, post the wage determination and WH-1321 poster at required sites, and flow these obligations down to subcontractors.
Subcontractors
Comply with the same wage, classification, payroll, and posting requirements as the prime contractor for any covered work they perform, including at primary and secondary sites of the work.
Laborers and Mechanics
Perform covered construction work under the applicable classification rules and, where relevant, may be part of the conformance process if their classification and wage rate are being agreed upon.
Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Receive reports of agreed conformed classifications and wage rates and provide the regulatory framework for enforcement and interpretation of Construction Wage Rate Requirements compliance.
Practical Implications
This clause is a payroll compliance rule as much as a labor-rate rule: contractors need accurate timekeeping, classification tracking, and fringe-benefit accounting to avoid underpayment findings.
The biggest mistake is misidentifying the site of the work, especially with staging yards, fabrication plants, or supplier facilities; not every support location is covered, but some dedicated, adjacent facilities are.
Contractors should not assume a worker’s title controls the wage rate; the actual tasks performed control, and mixed-classification work must be documented carefully.
Secondary sites can trigger separate wage obligations from the first day of work, so contractors should confirm coverage before mobilizing crews or materials to off-site locations.
If a needed classification is missing, conformance must be handled promptly and correctly; using an unlisted classification without approval can create back-wage liability and reporting issues.
Official Regulatory Text
As prescribed in 22.407 (a) , insert the following clause: Construction Wage Rate Requirements (Aug 2018) (a) Definition. —"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 any 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 paragraph (a)(1)(i), or the "secondary site of the work" as defined in paragraph (a)(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. (b) (1) All laborers and mechanics employed or working upon the site of the work will be paid unconditionally and not less often than once a week, and without subsequent deduction or rebate on any account (except such payroll deductions as are permitted by regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor under the Copeland Act ( 29 CFR Part 3 )), the full amount of wages and bona fide fringe benefits (or cash equivalents thereof) due at time of payment computed at rates not less than those contained in the wage determination of the Secretary of Labor which is attached hereto and made a part hereof, or as may be incorporated for a secondary site of the work, regardless of any contractual relationship which may be alleged to exist between the Contractor and such laborers and mechanics. Any wage determination incorporated for a secondary site of the work shall be effective from the first day on which work under the contract was performed at that site and shall be incorporated without any adjustment in contract price or estimated cost. Laborers employed by the construction Contractor or construction subcontractor that are transporting portions of the building or work between the secondary site of the work and the primary site of the work shall be paid in accordance with the wage determination applicable to the primary site of the work. (2) Contributions made or costs reasonably anticipated for bona fide fringe benefits under section 1(b)(2) of the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute on behalf of laborers or mechanics are considered wages paid to such laborers or mechanics, subject to the provisions of paragraph (e) of this clause; also, regular contributions made or costs incurred for more than a weekly period (but not less often than quarterly) under plans, funds, or programs which cover the particular weekly period, are deemed to be constructively made or incurred during such period. (3) Such laborers and mechanics shall be paid not less than the appropriate wage rate and fringe benefits in the wage determination for the classification of work actually performed, without regard to skill, except as provided in the clause entitled Apprentices and Trainees. Laborers or mechanics performing work in more than one classification may be compensated at the rate specified for each classification for the time actually worked therein; provided that the employer’s payroll records accurately set forth the time spent in each classification in which work is performed. (4) The wage determination (including any additional classifications and wage rates conformed under paragraph (c) of this clause) and the Construction Wage Rate Requirements (Davis-Bacon Act) poster (WH-1321) shall be posted at all times by the Contractor and its subcontractors at the primary site of the work and the secondary site of the work, if any, in a prominent and accessible place where it can be easily seen by the workers. (c) (1) The Contracting Officer shall require that any class of laborers or mechanics which is not listed in the wage determination and which is to be employed under the contract shall be classified in conformance with the wage determination. The Contracting Officer shall approve an additional classification and wage rate and fringe benefits therefor only when all the following criteria have been met: (i) The work to be performed by the classification requested is not performed by a classification in the wage determination. (ii) The classification is utilized in the area by the construction industry. (iii) The proposed wage rate, including any bona fide fringe benefits, bears a reasonable relationship to the wage rates contained in the wage determination. (2) If the Contractor and the laborers and mechanics to be employed in the classification (if known), or their representatives, and the Contracting Officer agree on the classification and wage rate (including the amount designated for fringe benefits, where appropriate), a report of the action taken shall be sent by the Contracting Officer to the Administrator of the: Wage and Hour Division U.S. Department of Labor Washington, DC 20210 The Administrator or an authorized representative will approve, modify, or disapprove every additional classification action within 30 days of receipt and so advise the Contracting Officer or will notify the Contracting Officer within the 30-day period that additional time is necessary. (3) In the event the Contractor, the laborers or mechanics to be employed in the classification, or their representatives, and the Contracting Officer do not agree on the proposed classification and wage rate (including the amount designated for fringe benefits, where appropriate), the Contracting Officer shall refer the questions, including the views of all interested parties and the recommendation of the Contracting Officer, to the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division for determination. The Administrator, or an authorized representative, will issue a determination within 30 days of receipt and so advise the Contracting Officer or will notify the Contracting Officer within the 30-day period that additional time is necessary. (4) The wage rate (including fringe benefits, where appropriate) determined pursuant to paragraphs (c)(2) and (c)(3) of this clause shall be paid to all workers performing work in the classification under this contract from the firstday on which work is performed in the classification. (d) Whenever the minimum wage rate prescribed in the contract for a class of laborers or mechanics includes a fringe benefit which is not expressed as an hourly rate, the Contractor shall either pay the benefit as stated in the wage determination or shall pay another bona fide fringe benefit or an hourly cash equivalent thereof. (e) If the Contractor does not make payments to a trustee or other third person, the Contractor may consider as part of the wages of any laborer or mechanic the amount of any costs reasonably anticipated in providing bona fide fringe benefits under a plan or program; provided, That the Secretary of Labor has found, upon the written request of the Contractor, that the applicable standards of the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute have been met. The Secretary of Labor may require the Contractor to set aside in a separate account assets for the meeting of obligations under the plan or program. (End of clause)