Title 29—Labor--Volume 1
PART 515—UTILIZATION OF STATE AGENCIES FOR INVESTIGATIONS AND INSPECTIONS
§ 515.1   Definitions.
As used in this part:
(a) Acts. The term Acts means the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (Act of June 25, 1938; Chapter 676, 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C. 201) and the Public Contracts Act (Act of June 30, 1936; 49 Stat. 2036; 41 U.S.C. 35-45).
(b) Administrator. The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor.
(c) Division. The term Division means the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor.
(d) State. The term State means any State of the United States or the District of Columbia or any Territory or possession of the United States.
(e) State agency. The term State agency means the agency in the State charged with the administration of labor laws which necessitate inspection of places of employment for (1) enforcement of State child-labor regulations and (2) enforcement of State maximum-hour or State minimum-wage regulations.
(f) Official forms. The term official forms means forms prescribed by the Administrator or the Secretary of Labor.
§ 515.2   Agreements with State agencies.
(a) Purpose. The Secretary and the Administrator may enter into agreements with State agencies for the utilization of services of State and local agencies and their employees in making investigations and inspections under the Acts and for reimbursement therefor, when such State agencies have submitted plans of cooperation for such purposes and such plans have been found to be reasonably appropriate and adequate to carry out the respective functions of the Secretary and the Administrator.
(b) Certificates of attorneys general. No such agreement shall become effective and operative until a statement of the Attorney General of the State, or, if the Attorney General is not authorized to make such a statement, the State official who is so authorized, has been received by the Division and the Secretary of Labor certifying that the agreement is valid in the form as executed under the laws of the State.
§ 515.3   Qualifications of the State agency.
The State agency shall have as its primary function the administration of State labor laws and shall be under the direction of an executive who gives full time to the work of the agency. The agency shall be engaged in inspecting places of employment for (a) enforcement of State child-labor laws and regulations, and (b) enforcement of State maximum hour or minimum-wage laws and regulations. An administrative division of the State agency shall be designated to make investigations and inspections under the Acts; qualified staff, under adequate supervision, shall be specifically assigned for work connected with State and Federal child-labor, maximum-hour and minimum-wage laws and regulations; and provision shall be made to inspect any establishment subject to the Acts.
§ 515.4   Submission of plan.
The State agency shall submit a plan, in quadruplicate, which shall include the following:
(a) A copy of the Act establishing the State agency, copies of the laws administered by the State agency, and if there is an act specifically authorizing the State to cooperate with the Division or the Secretary of Labor, or both, a copy of such Act.
(b) A description of the organization of the State agency, illustrated by organization charts, showing the delegation of responsibility and lines of authority to be followed within the agency in the enforcement of the act and State labor laws.
(c) A description: (1) Of the manner in which investigations and inspections under the Acts will be coordinated with the investigations and inspections for enforcement of State child-labor, maximum-hour and minimum-wage laws and regulations; (2) of the location of offices of the administrative division designated to make inspections under the Acts, with the job titles of employees located in each such office and employees assigned to work in connection with the Acts so designated; and (3) of the manner in which the work of inspectors will be supervised.
(d) Provisions for the establishment and maintenance of personnel administration, with respect to personnel engaged in work under the Acts for the Division and the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the following standards:
(1) Job classifications based upon an analysis of the duties and responsibilities of positions;
(2) A compensation schedule adjusted to State salary schedules for similar positions: Provided, however, That all salaries paid by the State for services rendered in accordance with an agreement entered into pursuant to § 515.2 shall be on the basis of applicable State laws or regulations, or in the absence of such applicable laws or regulations, on the approved and usual scale pair by the State for similar services and shall in no case exceed salaries paid for comparable Federal positions in the competitive classified service. Allowances for necessary traveling expenses shall be on the basis of State laws and regulations governing travel allowances;
(3) Assignment of personnel to Federal work only when their qualifications conform substantially with qualifications of Federal employees engaged in similar work, such assignment to be made only after submission to and approval by the Division and the Secretary of Labor of a statement of the training and experience of each person who will engage in Federal work;
(4) Appointment of new personnel on the basis of merit, either (i) from lists of eligible persons certified in the order of merit, secured under a merit system through State-wide competitive examinations which prescribe requirements of training and experience in substantial conformity with Federal civil service requirements for similar positions or (ii) from lists taken from Federal registers established through competitive examinations for similar positions, it being understood that such registers may be broken down by States;
(5) Adequate training of staff;
(6) Promotion on the basis of qualifications and performance;
(7) Security of tenure assured satisfactory employees, including right of notice and hearing prior to demotion or dismissal;
(8) Prohibition against employees engaging in political activities other than the exercise of their right to vote and to express privately their opinions on political questions.
(e) A budget which shall show, in detail, estimated expenditures by the State agency on behalf of the Division and the Secretary of Labor for services to be rendered in connection with the administration of the Acts and a budget which shall show estimated expenditure for the enforcement of comparable State laws and regulations during the period covered by the agreement; a statement showing funds appropriated to or allocated for meeting the budget for estimated State expenditures; and a statement showing expenditures by the State agency for the enforcement of comparable State laws and regulations during the last fiscal year.
(f) A statement of State requirements in regard to fiscal practices and to appointment of personnel, together with copies of the laws and regulations setting forth such requirements.
(g) A statement from the Attorney General of the State or, if the Attorney General is not authorized to make such a statement, from the State official who is so authorized certifying that the State agency has authority to enter into an Agreement with the Division and the Secretary of Labor in accordance with this part.
§ 515.5   Additional requirements.
(a) The State Agency shall follow the procedure set forth in the Inspection Manual for the enforcement of the act and such supplements to or provisions thereof as may be issued from time to time by the Division or the Secretary of Labor; use official forms for recording findings; make reports as required; and carry on the work connected with the administration of the Acts in conformity with the plans and budget agreed upon and with the instructions and policies of the Division and the Secretary of Labor.
(b) Representatives of the Division and the Secretary of Labor may at any time, upon notifying the State agency, make such inspections and investigations and secure such information as may be necessary for the administration of the Acts.
§ 515.6   Audits.
The accounting records and the supporting data pertaining to expenditures for investigations and inspections under the Acts shall be subject to audit by the Division and the Secretary of Labor, annually, or so often as the Administrator and the Secretary of Labor, may require.
§ 515.7   Transmission of official mail.
Subject to the requirements of law and of the regulations of the Post Office Department, franked self-addressed envelopes may be used for communications from the field staff to a State official designated by the Division and the Secretary of Labor, and for communication from the State agency to the Division or the Secretary of Labor.
§ 515.8   Enforcement.
All litigation relating to the enforcement of the Acts, other than civil actions for the recovery of wages due instituted pursuant to section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and all administrative proceedings instituted pursuant to section 5 of the Public Contracts Act shall be undertaken by and be under the direction and control of the Federal Government. Any State agency intending to institute a civil action in behalf of an employee or employees for the recovery of wages due, pursuant to section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 shall notify the Division and the Secretary of Labor prior to the institution of such action.
§ 515.9   Agreements and approved plans.
Agreements and approved plans incorporated therein may be amended upon the consent of the parties thereto.
§ 515.10   Amendments and repeal.
This part may be amended or repealed by appropriate joint regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor and the Administrator: Provided, however, That no such amendment or repeal shall be effective as to any agreement previously entered into by a State agency without its consent thereto.