How Davis-Bacon court ruling changes pay prospects for Kenyans in US construction jobs
By Aloys Michael, July 3, 2026Thousands of Kenyans working in the United States construction industry will continue to enjoy protections under the Davis-Bacon Act, but a new federal court ruling has limited efforts to expand those protections beyond traditional construction work.
The decision by the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas has struck down key parts of a Biden-era regulation that sought to widen the reach of the 1931 law, marking a significant victory for construction industry groups while providing greater clarity for foreign workers, including Kenyans, employed on federally funded building projects.
The Act requires contractors and subcontractors working on federally funded construction projects to pay workers at least the locally prevailing wage and benefits. The law has long been regarded as one of the main wage protections for construction workers in the United States.
In 2023, the US Department of Labour introduced sweeping changes that updated how prevailing wages are calculated and attempted to extend the law to additional categories of work, including some materials suppliers, delivery truck drivers and certain contracts that did not originally contain Davis-Bacon requirements.
However, industry organisations led by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) challenged the regulations in court, arguing that the administration had exceeded the powers granted by Congress.
On June 24, 2026, the Texas court agreed, ruling that three provisions of the regulation were unlawful and ordering them removed nationwide. The Department of Labour later accepted the judgment instead of continuing the legal battle.
For Kenyan construction workers legally employed in the United States, the ruling does not remove existing wage protections. Workers directly involved in federally funded construction projects will continue to receive prevailing wages under the Davis-Bacon Act.
Instead, the judgment mainly affects occupations that the Biden administration had attempted to include under the law’s protection.
For example, the court rejected efforts to automatically extend prevailing wage requirements to contractor-operated materials suppliers, some delivery truck drivers who spend part of their time on construction sites and contracts that were signed before Davis-Bacon provisions were added.
The ruling effectively keeps the law focused on physical construction work rather than expanding it into broader support services.
The decision could affect some Kenyan workers employed in logistics or supply chain roles linked to federal construction projects, as they may no longer qualify for Davis-Bacon wage protections unless their duties fall within the law’s traditional definition of construction labour.
The ruling also provides greater certainty for contractors bidding for federal infrastructure projects because it limits additional labour costs that would have resulted from the expanded regulations.
The remittances
The US remains one of Kenya’s largest sources of diaspora remittances, with thousands of Kenyans employed across sectors including healthcare, transport, technology and construction.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), remittances reached a record Ksh58.14 billion in March 2026, up from Ksh53.28 billion in February. Over the 12 months to March 2026, total inflows rose to Ksh655.75 billion, underlining the growing importance of diaspora earnings to Kenya’s economy.
These transfers remain a vital source of foreign exchange and help support household spending, education, healthcare and investment across the country.
The latest court ruling is therefore unlikely to reduce remittance flows from Kenyans already working on qualifying federal construction projects because their prevailing wage protections remain intact.
However, workers who had expected higher wages under the broader Biden-era interpretation may see fewer opportunities to benefit from the expanded rules, potentially limiting future earnings growth for some occupations connected to federal construction.
The case also highlights the continuing legal and political debate over labour protections in the United States. While labour unions have supported broader wage coverage to prevent contractors from shifting work into lower-paid categories, business groups argue that expanding Davis-Bacon beyond construction would increase project costs and exceed the intent of Congress.