Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Information Collections: “Labor Standards for Federal Service Contacts Regulation 29 CFR Part 4”
| Published date | 20 May 2019 |
| Citation | 84 FR 22903 |
| Record Number | 2019-10389 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Wage And Hour Division |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 97 (Monday, May 20, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 97 (Monday, May 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22903-22904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10389]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Wage and Hour Division
Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request;
Information Collections: ``Labor Standards for Federal Service Contacts
Regulation 29 CFR Part 4''
AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is soliciting comments
concerning a proposed extension of the information collection request
(ICR) titled, ``Labor Standards for Federal Service Contacts Regulation
29 CFR part 4.'' This comment request is part of continuing
Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).
This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in
the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is
minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the
impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly
assessed. A copy of the proposed information request can be obtained by
contacting the office listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this Notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section below on or before July 19, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Control Number 1235-
0007, by either one of the following methods: Email:
[email protected]; Mail, Hand Delivery, Courier: Division of
Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and Hour, U.S.
Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20210.
Instructions: Please submit one copy of your comments by only one
method. All submissions received must include the agency name and
Control Number identified above for this information collection.
Because we continue to experience delays in receiving mail in the
Washington, DC area, commenters are strongly encouraged to transmit
their comments electronically via email or to submit them by mail
early. Comments, including any personal information provided, become a
matter of public record. They will also be summarized and/or included
in the request for OMB approval of the information collection request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy DeBisschop, Acting Director,
Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and
Hour, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-0406 (this is not a
toll-free number). Copies of this notice may be obtained in alternative
formats (Large Print, Braille, Audio Tape, or Disc), upon request, by
calling (202) 693-0023 (not a toll-free number). TTY/TTD callers may
dial toll-free (877) 889-5627 to obtain information or request
materials in alternative formats.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background: The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department
of Labor administers the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), 41
U.S.C. 351 et seq. The McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA)
applies to every contract entered into by the United States or the
District of Columbia, the principal purpose of which is to furnish
services to the United States through the use of service employees. The
SCA requires contractors and subcontractors performing services on
covered federal or District of Columbia contracts in excess of $2,500
to pay service employees in various classes no less than the monetary
wage rates and to furnish fringe benefits found prevailing in the
locality, or the rates (including prospective increases) contained in a
predecessor contractor's collective bargaining agreement. Safety and
health standards also apply to such contracts. The compensation
requirements of the SCA are enforced by the Wage and Hour Division.
A. Vacation Benefit Seniority List
Service Contract Act section 2(a), provides that every contract
subject to the Act must contain a provision specifying the minimum
monetary wages and fringe benefits to be paid to the various classes of
service employees performing work on the contract. Many wage
determinations (WDs) issued for recurring services performed at the
same Federal facility provide for certain vested fringe benefits (e.g.,
vacations), which are based on the employee's total length of service
with a contractor or any predecessor contractor. See 29 CFR 4.162. When
found to prevail, such fringe benefits are incorporated in WDs and are
usually stated as ``one week paid vacation after one year's service
with a contractor or successor, two weeks after two years'', etc. These
provisions ensure that employees receive the vacation benefit payments
that they have earned and accrued by requiring that such payments be
made by successor contractors who hire the same employees who have
worked over the years at the same facility in the same locality for
predecessor contractors
B. Conformance Record
Section 2(a) of the SCA provides that every contract subject to the
Act must contain a provision specifying the minimum monetary wage and
fringe benefits to be paid the various classes of service employees
employed on the contract work. See 41 U.S.C. 351, et seq. Problems
sometimes arise (1) when employees are working on service contracts in
job classifications that DOL was not previously informed about and
[[Page 22904]]
(2) when there are job classifications for which no wage data are
available.
Section 4.6(b)(2) of 29 CFR part 4 provides a process for
``conforming'' (i.e., adding) classifications and wage rates to the WD
for classes of service employees not previously listed on a WD but
where employees are actually working on an SCA covered contract. This
process ensures that the requirements of section 2(a) of the Act are
fulfilled and that a formal record exists as part of the contract which
documents the wage rate and fringe benefits to be paid for a conformed
classification while a service employee(s) is employed on the contract.
The contracting officer is required to review each contractor-
proposed conformance to determine if the unlisted classes have been
properly classified by the contractor so as to provide a reasonable
relationship (i.e., appropriate level of skill comparison) between such
unlisted classifications and the classifications (and wages) listed in
the WD. See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2). Moreover, the contracting agency is
required to forward the conformance action to the Wage and Hour
Division for review and approval. Id. However, in any case where a
contract succeeds a contract under which a class was previously
conformed, the contractor may use an optional procedure known as the
indexing (i.e., adjusting) procedure to determine a new wage rate for a
previously conformed class. See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2)(iv)(B). This procedure
does not require DOL approval but does require the contractor to notify
the contracting agency in writing that a previously conformed class has
been indexed and include information describing how the new rate was
computed. Id.
C. Submission of Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
Sections 2(a) and 4(c) of the SCA provide that any contractor which
succeeds to a contract subject to the Act and under which substantially
the same services are furnished, shall pay any service workers employed
on the contract no less than the wages and fringe benefits to which
such workers would have been entitled if employed under the predecessor
contract. See 29 CFR 4.163(a).
Section 4.6(l)(1) of Regulations, 29 CFR part 4, requires an
incumbent (predecessor) contractor to provide to the contracting
officer a copy of any CBA governing the wages and fringe benefits paid
service employees performing work on the contract during the contract
period. These CBAs are submitted by the contracting agency to the Wage
and Hour Division of the Department of Labor where they are used in
issuing WDs for successor contracts subject to section 2(a) and 4(c) of
SCA. See 29 CFR 4.4(c).
The Wage and Hour Division uses this information to determine
whether covered employers have complied with various legal requirements
of the laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division. The Wage and
Hour Division seeks approval to extend this information collection
related to the Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts.
II. Review Focus: The Department of Labor is particularly
interested in comments which:
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected;
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submissions of responses.
III. Current Actions: The Department of Labor seeks an approval for
the extension of this information collection that requires employers to
make, maintain, and preserve records in accordance with statutory and
regulatory requirements.
Type of Review: Extension.
Agency: Wage and Hour Division.
Title: Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts--Regulations
29 CFR part 4.
OMB Number: 1235-0007.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, Not-for-profit
institutions, Farms.
Total Respondents: 123,333.
Total Annual Responses: 123,463.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 123,514.
Estimated Time per Response:
Vacation Benefit Seniority List--1 hour
Conformance Record--30 minutes
Conformance Indexing--2 hours
Collective Bargaining Agreement--5 minutes
Frequency: On occasion.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
Total Burden Costs (operation/maintenance): $0.
Dated: May 14, 2019.
Robert M. Waterman,
Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation.
[FR Doc. 2019-10389 Filed 5-17-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-27-P
