U.S. DOL WHD Adopting Maryland's Prevailing Wage Rates for Davis-Bacon Effective March 14, 2025

Last month, the Maryland Department of Labor announced that effective March 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division (“WHD”) will adopt Maryland surveyed prevailing wage rates on federal projects in the state covered by the Davis Bacon Act. 

Maryland Department of Labor’s announcement explained that Federal rules allow WHD to adopt as federal prevailing rates the prevailing rates set by state and local government surveys, provided that the state or local rate-setting process meets certain criteria. 

Maryland Department of Labor’s announcement went on to explain that the adoption process increases efficiency by harmonizing the federal and state prevailing rates and that adoption of Maryland’s rates also makes federal wage determinations more current and accurate because Maryland conducts surveys more frequently than the federal government. 

The new Davis-Bacon regulations promulgated by the Biden Administration authorize WHD to adopt state rates where, among other things, the state agency’s criteria for setting prevailing wage rates are substantially similar to those used by WHD in making Davis-Bacon wage determinations. 29 C.F.R. 1.3(g)-(h).  Last fall, WHD announced that it had adopted Minnesota’s prevailing wage rates and that it was reviewing Maryland’s rates.

Unlike WHD, Maryland conducts its surveys on an annual basis.  The survey opens on September 1 of each year, and the cut-off date is October 31.  To submit data, contractors, contractors’ associations, labor organizations, public officials and other interested parties must first register here.  Once registered, entities will be able to submit wage data here starting on September 1.