Are workers who perform testing, adjusting and balancing (“TAB “) work on heating, ventilating, and air conditioning  (“HVAC”)  systems “laborers or mechanics” to whom Davis-Bacon requirements may be applicable? Under what circumstances is TAB work on HVAC systems part of the construction, alteration, and/or repair on a DBA-covered project, and hence subject to DBA labor standards?

Experienced federal contractors know (or better know) that the deadlines for filing a protest at the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) are short and are strictly enforced. To minimize the risk of an untimely protest, contractors must consider whether the issuance of the written debriefing means that the debriefing has concluded. Of course, the answer is “it depends.”

My candidate for the most important law enacted by Congress is the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). This law had perhaps the greatest economic impact upon the most Americans of any legislation. And its legacy endures even today, as it makes an appearance in the so-called One Big Beautiful Tax Bill as the instrument to partially deliver Trump’s promised no tax on overtime.