The Davis–Bacon Act and the Inflation Reduction Act: Critical changes in prevailing-wage law

Timothy Taylor | Holland & Knight

Timothy J. Taylor is an employment and litigation attorney in Holland & Knight’s Tysons office. Mr. Taylor represents employers, companies and individuals in high-stakes litigation, investigations and compliance matters across a wide variety of areas and in particular vis-à-vis government regulators. He serves clients in highly regulated industries, especially healthcare and government contracts.

Before rejoining Holland & Knight, Mr. Taylor served as Deputy Solicitor of Labor, the second in-command legal officer for the federal government’s second-largest litigation department, housed in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). In that position, he oversaw a wide portfolio of litigation, enforcement, rulemaking and legal counseling for the agency’s more than 450 attorneys at 23 client agencies. Laws under his purview included the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Davis- Bacon Act (DBA), Service Contract Act (SCA), Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Executive Order 11246. He also previously served as senior counsel for employment and investigations at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR).

Mr. Taylor uses that experience to defend and counsel clients facing difficult employment issues, including DOL and other investigations, discrimination claims, prevailing-wage matters, trade-secret and noncompete cases, executive employment agreements (and disagreements), and compliance with unclear and emerging areas of law.

In addition, Mr. Taylor represents clients in a broad array of other litigation and investigations. A gifted writer, Mr. Taylor is often called upon for dispositive motions, appeals, and written advocacy to regulators. His experience includes matters involving fraud, breach of contract, defamation, partnership disputes, First Amendment issues, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) civil and criminal investigations, and a host of other matters. From his government experience, Mr. Taylor has in-depth knowledge of federal regulation and policymaking under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). He has also represented many clients in False Claims Act (FCA) investigations and litigation.

Before his government service, Mr. Taylor was an associate with Holland & Knight. Among other civil and criminal representations, he was part of the U.S. Supreme Court team that secured a unanimous reversal of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s convictions on public corruption charges.

After law school, Mr. Taylor clerked for the Honorable Harris Hartz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and the Honorable Charles Lettow of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. During law school, he was an editor of the Attorney Advertising. Copyright © 1996–2023 Holland & Knight LLP. All rights reserved. Harvard Law Review.

I. The DBA final rule’s new methodology for calculating prevailing wages, and how it is likely to result in higher costs for contractors and program participants | 12:00pm – 12:30pm

II. The DBA final rule’s new provisions expanding and clarifying what work (and workers) are covered under the law | 12:30pm – 1:00pm

Break | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

III. The DBA final rule’s new enforcement provisions that raise uncertainty and penalties for
employers | 1:10pm – 1:25pm

IV. The latest guidance on the Inflation Reduction Act’s prevailing-wage tax credits, and how they differ from traditional DBA law | 1:25pm – 1:40pm