If you have performed hourly work for the federal government or work for a company that does construction or related activities, you have likely heard of “Davis-Bacon” wages. The term “Davis-Bacon” comes from the federal Davis-Bacon Act, which ensures that private companies working for the federal government do not attain lucrative government contracts by lowering employees’ wages. Instead, Davis-Bacon mandates that government contractors must pay their employees “local prevailing wages.” This prevents contractors from pushing wages lower and lower in a community as they compete for government bids. If a contractor intentionally ignores or flouts the Davis-Bacon statute, it can be prosecuted under the False Claims Act; I will describe what this sort of complaint would look like below.
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The Davis-Bacon Act and Qui Tam Whistleblower Cases
There are two different aspects of the Davis-Bacon Act that are at issue in whistleblower cases. One is for construction contracts, and the other is for service contracts. For construction contracts, all government contractors and subcontractors must pay employees the “locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits” for similar work. For service contracts, contractors and subcontractors must pay “wage rates and fringe benefits prevailing in the locality.” Generally speaking, contractors and subcontractors on government contracts must promise to pay employees whatever a similar employee would make in the community.
Fraud occurs under the Davis-Bacon Act when a contractor submits invoices to the federal government indicating that he or she has paid Davis-Bacon Act compliant wages to his or her employees, but then actually pays the employees less than he states. This is an attractive scam to employers, as they keep the difference between the claimed rate of pay and the amount they actually pay. While you may think that employees would immediately notice the difference, that is not always in the case. That is because the employer may still be paying the employees an adequate pay rate, resulting in suspicion not being aroused. Additionally, employees rarely have access to or a sufficient understanding of government contracts to be aware that they are being paid less than is due them.
Davis-Bacon Act fraud cases are often discovered by contractors’ administrative personnel, such as secretaries, comptrollers, and accountants. These office workers have access to information that demonstrates the gap between what the contractor claimed to be paying employees and what he or she is actually paying them. That gap is a fraud against the federal government and is ripe for a whistleblower case brought under the False Claims Act.
The Davis-Bacon Act applies to all contracts with the federal government over $2500, but these construction and service contracts are often in the millions and even billions of dollar range.
What Should You Do if You are Considering Making a Whistleblower Claim?
Are you considering filing a whistleblower case? If you are an employee of a federal contractor that is claiming to pay Davis-Bacon wages and is in actuality not, you are aware of fraud against the federal government. The reward for submitting a successful claim can be 15% to 30% of any recovery, which often ranges into the millions million dollars for government construction contracts. You will only receive this sort of award with the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney. The U.S. Department of Justice gets thousands of potential whistleblower claims each year, and only those that meet their requirements and are reported in a way that triggers their interest are acted upon. Careful pleading and an organized approach to gathering evidence are critical to this process and will require the help of an experienced whistleblower counsel. Contact Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577.
Experienced whistleblower lawyer Barrett can provide you with the advice you will need to file a successful whistleblower case. Having expert legal advice by your side can mean the difference between receiving your share of a whistleblower reward and losing your career and livelihood. Call our Mississippi Whistleblower Lawyer today!
