Last week the Second Circuit issued an opinion reaffirming that the Davis-Bacon Act preempts state law claims by workers to enforce prevailing wage rates as third-party beneficiaries to a contract.  Congress enacted the Davis-Bacon Act during the Great Depression to provide minimum wages for laborers working under federal construction contracts.  The Act requires contractors to pay a “prevailing wage” or the wages paid to similar workers in the same locality.  The Department of Labor sets the prevailing wages.  Other federal laws impose similar prevailing wage requirements.  The Service Contract Act, for example, covers employers providing services to the federal government.