Question: Do the Davis-Bacon Standards Apply to Community Action Agencies (Weatherization Assistance) ?

This was addressed by a letter from the Wage and Hour Division dated June 1, 2009 (The link on the title to this post). The short answer is "yes."

Section 1606 of ARRA applies the Davis-Bacon Act to "all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on projects funded [by ARRA]." While the Department of Labor has long held that governmental entities are not "contractors" or "subcontractors" when the work is performed by the governmental entities' own employees, not-for-profit Community Action Agencies are under contract with those governmental entities for the weatherization program, not a part of the entities themselves.

Therefore, these Community Action Agencies - and contractors used by them - that are making repairs and improvements under the ARRA-funded weatherization assistance program are contractors, and thus are subject to the Davis-Bacon requirements.

Remember that some activities, such as energy audits and inspections, are not construction, and the technicians performing that sort of work are not subject to Davis-Bacon.