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What are the overtime rules on Davis-Bacon covered jobs

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The overtime rule on a Davis-Bacon job

On a job covered by the Davis-Bacon Act, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act requires overtime pay of 1.5 times your base rate for any hours over 40 in a week. The Fair Labor Standards Act applies too, no matter what.

Overtime is figured on the base rate line of your wage determination, not on fringe. Fringe can be paid in cash.

Is your job covered at all

The Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. § 3142) applies to federal construction contracts above $2,000. "Related Acts" extend the same rule to many federally assisted projects — for example, HUD, FHWA, or EPA water projects.

Florida has no state prevailing wage law. Fla. Stat. 218.77 actually bars local governments from requiring one. So this overtime rule applies here only because of federal money, not because of Florida law.

How to check your rate and fringe

The only official rate is the wage determination for your trade and county on SAM.gov Wage Determinations. Read the line for your classification: it lists a base rate and a fringe amount, and the base rate is what your overtime is figured on.

A covered contractor must post the wage determination at the jobsite. If there is no poster, that is a question to ask — not proof of anything by itself.

If your overtime pay looks short

• Do not walk off the job or confront the foreman.
• Start a daily log of your hours and the trade classification you worked each day.
• Ask a written question to the foreman or payroll about the wage determination and the fringe line.
• Retaliation for asking is prohibited.

Where to get help

If it's not resolved, you can contact the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243, in English or Spanish. This call is free.

This is not legal advice. It can be wrong. Confirm anything here with the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division and read the wage determination yourself at SAM.gov before relying on it.

What to do next

The free tool reads your trade, your county, and the details of your job. In a few seconds it tells you whether the job is likely covered, how to read the base rate and fringe line on the official determination, and gives you a question to ask payroll — in English or Spanish. No account. Nothing stored.

Prevailing Wage Lookup explains federal and Florida rules in plain language; it can be wrong, and it is not legal advice. It never states a rate — rates are read from the official wage determination at sam.gov. Questions and complaints: U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243. Nothing you paste is stored.