Wage protections will apply to Guam buildup contractors' workers

PACIFIC DAILY NEWS • NEWS@GUAMPDN.COM

The fiscal 2010 defense spending bill, as approved by a House-Senate conference committee yesterday, would extend the Davis-Bacon wage protections to all military construction projects on Guam.

Under the Davis-Bacon Act, federal contractors and subcontractors must pay their laborers and mechanics no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for corresponding work on similar projects in the area, according to the U.S. Labor Department. The Davis-Bacon Act directs the U.S. Department of Labor to determine such locally prevailing wage rates, according to the federal Labor Department.

The federal law also requires federal contractors to pay workers weekly.

Bordallo’s office states the defense spending bill, as agreed upon by the House-Senate conference committee, would require contractors performing work on military construction projects on Guam to develop a recruitment plan that is submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor that details their efforts to hire local and other U.S. citizens and nationals.

It also requires that the contractors submit a follow-up report that details why any U.S. citizen or national was not hired for a specific project, according to Bordallo’s office.

The bill maintains the governor of Guam's ability to certify the need for H-2B workers, but he must submit an additional certification to the Secretary of Defense for military construction projects only.