Community Improvement Volunteer Act of 1994

Summary: Community Improvement Volunteer Act of 1994 - Provides for waivers of the prevailing-wage-setting requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act with respect to volunteers who perform services under the Library Services and Construction Act, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, or migrant health centers or community health centers provisions of the Public Health Service Act.  Prohibits approval of any expense, benefit, or fee being paid to such volunteers which has the effect of undermining labor standards by creating downward pressure on prevailing wages in the local construction industry. 
Directs the Secretary of Labor to report to the appropriate congressional committees on such waivers for volunteers on such projects and make recommendations with respect to other Davis-Bacon-related Acts that could be addressed to permit volunteer work.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Community Improvement Volunteer Act 
of 1994''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the ethic of civic responsibility, the spirit of 
        community and the belief in volunteerism have all been 
        fundamental principles guiding this country's evolution;
            (2) Americans persist in their desire to affirm their sense 
        of humanity, community, civic responsibility and shared values;
            (3) volunteerism plays a vital role in helping the American 
        people meet these mores;
            (4) throughout the United States, there are pressing unmet 
        public needs that will benefit and serve the local community or 
        disadvantaged groups within the community (such as food banks, 
        homeless shelters, parks, day care centers, youth centers, drug 
        and alcohol abuse rehabilitation centers, libraries, and 
        similar entities);
            (5) expanding opportunities for volunteerism can assist a 
        community in meeting many of these unmet public needs resulting 
        in tangible benefits to society at little or no cost to the 
        public;
            (6) many Federal laws that authorize financial assistance 
        for the construction of public buildings and public works 
        require the application of the prevailing wage-setting 
        provisions of the Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly known as the 
        ``Davis-Bacon Act'') (40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.) which sets 
        minimum wages and fringe benefits which must be paid to various 
        classes of laborers and mechanics who are employed on such 
        projects;
            (7) these prevailing wage-setting provisions of the Davis-
        Bacon Act protect the labor standards of working men and women 
        in the locality where the federally-assisted project is to be 
        constructed, significantly contribute to the achievement of a 
        decent standard of living for local area working families, and 
        contribute to safeguarding and providing employment 
        opportunities for women and minorities in the construction 
        industry;
            (8) the prevailing wage-setting provisions of the Davis-
        Bacon Act create incentives for contractors and subcontractors 
        seeking federally-assisted and insured contracts and 
        subcontracts to establish and support apprenticeship programs 
        which provide opportunities for women and minorities to receive 
        training that enables them to become fully qualified laborers 
        and mechanics in the construction industry; and
            (9) in order to achieve these objectives, the prevailing 
        wage-setting provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act have been 
        uniformly applied to all laborers and mechanics who performed 
        work on federally-assisted public building and public works 
        projects regardless of their status as volunteers, unless an 
        express exception is specifically provided for in a particular 
        Federal law under which the Federal funding is authorized.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to promote and provide more 
opportunities for people who wish to volunteer their services in the 
construction, repair or alteration, including painting and decorating, 
of public buildings and public works funded, in whole or in part, with 
Federal financial assistance authorized under certain Federal programs 
that might not otherwise be possible without the use of volunteers, by 
waiving the application of the otherwise applicable prevailing wage-
setting provisions of the Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly known as the 
``Davis-Bacon Act'') (40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.) to such volunteers.

SEC. 4. WAIVER.

    (a) In General.--The requirement that certain laborers and 
mechanics be paid in accordance with the wage-setting provisions of the 
Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly known as the ``Davis-Bacon Act'') (40 
U.S.C. 276a et seq.) as set forth in any of the Acts or provisions 
described in subsection (d), and the provisions relating to wages, in 
any federally assisted or insured contract or subcontract for 
construction, shall not apply to any individual--
            (1) who volunteers--
                    (A) to perform a service for a public or private 
                entity for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons, 
                without promise, expectation or receipt of compensation 
                for services rendered other than expenses, reasonable 
                benefits, or a nominal fee (as defined in subsection 
                (b)), but solely for the personal purpose or pleasure 
                of the individual; and
                    (B) to provide such services freely and without 
                pressure or coercion, direct or implied, from an 
                employer;
            (2) whose contribution of service is not for the benefit of 
        any contractor otherwise performing or seeking to perform work 
        on the same project; and
            (3) who is not otherwise employed at any time under the 
        federally assisted or insured contract or subcontract involved 
        for construction with respect to the project for which the 
        individual is volunteering.
    (b) Expenses.--Payments of expenses, reasonable benefits, or a 
nominal fee may be provided to volunteers described in subsection (a) 
if the Secretary of Labor determines, after an examination of the total 
amount of payments made (expenses, benefits, fees) in the context of 
the economic realities of the specific federally assisted or insured 
project, that such payments are appropriate. Subject to such a 
determination--
            (1) a payment for an expense may be received by a volunteer 
        for items such as uniform allowances, protective gear and 
        clothing, reimbursement for approximate out-of-pocket expenses, 
        or for the cost or expense of meals and transportation;
            (2) a reasonable benefit may include the inclusion of a 
        volunteer in a group insurance plan (such as a liability, 
        health, life, disability, or worker's compensation plan) or 
        pension plan or the awarding of a length of service award; and
            (3) a nominal fee may not be used as a substitute for 
        compensation and must not be tied to productivity.
The decision as to what constitutes a nominal fee for purposes of 
paragraph (3) shall be made on a case-by-case basis and in the context 
of the economic realities of the situation involved.
    (c) Economic Reality.--For purposes of subsection (b), in 
determining whether an expense, benefit or fee described in such 
subsection may be paid to volunteers in the context of the economic 
realities of the particular situation, the Secretary of Labor shall not 
approve any such expense, benefit or fee which has the effect of 
undermining labor standards by creating downward pressure on prevailing 
wages in the local construction industry.
    (d) Contracts Exempted.--For purposes of subsection (a), the Acts 
or provisions described in this subsection are the following:
            (1) The Library Services and Construction Act.
            (2) The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
        Act.
            (3) Section 329 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
        254b).
            (4) Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
        254c).

SEC. 5. REPORT.

    Not later than December 31, 1997, the Secretary of Labor shall 
prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 
that--
            (1) identifies and assesses, to the maximum extent 
        practicable--
                    (A) the projects for which volunteers were 
                permitted to work under this Act; and
                    (B) the number of volunteers permitted to work 
                because of the compliance of entities with the 
                provisions of this Act; and
            (2) contains recommendations with respect to other Davis-
        Bacon-related Acts that could be addressed to permit volunteer 
        work.