I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2472

To amend the Act of March 3, 1931 (known as the Davis-Bacon Act),

to revise the standards for coverage under the Act, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 12, 1995

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. BLUTE, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr.

ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. GILMAN, Mr.

HORN, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. LAZIO of New York, Mr.

LOBIONDO, Mr. MARTINI, Mr. METCALF, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. RIGGS, Mr.

SHAYS, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. WALSH, Mr. WELLER, Mr.

YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. PETRI, Mr. NEY, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. GILCHREST,

Mr. QUINN, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. TORKILDSEN, and Mr. REGULA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Economic and Educational Opportunities

A BILL

To amend the Act of March 3, 1931 (known as the DavisBacon Act), to revise the standards for coverage under

the Act, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act Re5 form Amendments of 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE DAVIS-BACON ACT.

2 (a) CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.—Section 1 of the

3 Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly referred to as the

4 ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’) (40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.) is amended

5 to read as follows:

6 ‘‘SECTION 1. CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.

7 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A contract described in

9 subsection (b) that requires or involves the employ10 ment of mechanics or laborers shall contain a provi11 sion—

12 ‘‘(A) stating the minimum wages to be

13 paid various classes of laborers and mechanics

14 that shall be based upon the wages that will be

15 determined by the Secretary of Labor to be pre16 vailing for the corresponding classes of laborers

17 and mechanics employed on projects of a char18 acter similar to the contract work in the locality

19 where the work is to be performed;

20 ‘‘(B) which stipulates that the contractor

21 or subcontractor under the contract shall pay

22 all laborers and mechanics under the contract—

23 ‘‘(i) unconditionally;

24 ‘‘(ii) not less often than once a week;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(iii) without subsequent deduction or

2 rebate on any account;

3 ‘‘(C) which stipulates that the require4 ments of subparagraph (A) shall apply to—

5 ‘‘(i) laborers and mechanics employed

6 by the contractor or subcontractor to work

7 directly upon the site of the work, includ8 ing work at fabrication plants, batch

9 plants, tool yards, rock pits, or similar fa10 cilities (other than facilities established by

11 a contractor or subcontractor whose loca12 tion and continuance in operation are de13 termined wholly without regard to any par14 ticular contract work) that are not located

15 on the project site, but the principal pur16 pose of such work is to provide construc17 tion materials for the project; and

18 ‘‘(ii) laborers and mechanics employed

19 by a contractor or subcontractor (otherwise

20 covered by this Act) to transport debris,

21 materials, supplies, and equipment to or

22 from the site of the work (as described

23 herein); and

24 ‘‘(D) which stipulates that, after written

25 notice to the contractor, there may be withheld
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1 from the contractor under the contract or any

2 contract between the same contractor and the

3 United States or the District of Columbia or

4 under any federally assisted contract subject to

5 the prevailing wage requirements of this Act so

6 much of accrued payments as may be consid7 ered necessary by the contracting officer or by

8 the Secretary of Labor to pay to laborers and

9 mechanics employed by such contractor or any

10 subcontractor on the work the difference be11 tween the rates of wages required by such con12 tract to be paid laborers and mechanics on the

13 work and the rates of wages received by such

14 laborers and mechanics and not refunded to

15 such contractor, subcontractor, or the agents of

16 such contractor or subcontractor.

17 Funds described in subparagraph (D) shall be

18 placed in an interest bearing account until the dis19 position of the funds is administratively or judicially

20 resolved.

21 ‘‘(2) POSTING.—A contractor or subcontractor

22 under a contract described in subsection (b) shall

23 post the scale of wages required to be paid under

24 such contract in a prominent and easily accessible

25 place at the site of the contract work.
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1 ‘‘(b) COVERED CONTRACTS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

3 section shall apply to—

4 ‘‘(A) any contract in excess of $100,000 to

5 which the United States or the District of Co6 lumbia is a party for the performance of new

7 construction, including painting and decorating,

8 of public buildings or public works of the Unit9 ed States or the District of Columbia within the

10 geographic limits of the States or the District

11 of Columbia; and

12 ‘‘(B) any contract in excess of $25,000 to

13 which the United States or the District of Co14 lumbia is a party for the performance of repair,

15 rehabilitation, reconstruction, or alteration, in16 cluding painting and decorating, of public build17 ings or public works of the United States or the

18 District of Columbia within the geographical

19 limits of the States or the District of Columbia.

20 ‘‘(2) LEASES OF REAL PROPERTY.—If the

21 United States or the District of Columbia has en22 tered into a contract to lease a building or work, or

23 portion thereof, and if performance of a contract for

24 the construction, alteration, repair, rehabilitation,

25 renovation, or reconstruction of the building or
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1 work, or portion thereof, subject to the lease is re2 quired for fulfillment of the contract to lease the

3 contract for the construction, alteration, repair, re4 habilitation, renovation, or reconstruction of the fa5 cility shall be subject to subsection (a) if the con6 tract meets the requirements of paragraph (1).

7 ‘‘(3) FEDERALLY ASSISTED.—The requirements

8 of this Act (including the requirements of paragraph

9 (1)) shall apply to any project for the construction,

10 rehabilitation, reconstruction, alteration or repair,

11 including painting and decorating, of buildings or

12 works that are financed in whole or in part by loans,

13 grants, revolving funds, or other assistance from the

14 United States pursuant to a statute that—

15 ‘‘(A) is enacted after the effective date of

16 this Act unless exempt or otherwise limited by

17 Federal law; or

18 ‘‘(B) contains a provision requiring the

19 payment of prevailing wages as determined by

20 the Secretary of Labor pursuant to this Act.

21 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENTS FOR CHANGES IN DOLLAR

22 VALUES.—Beginning with the fiscal year 1995 and

23 annually thereafter, the amounts of the thresholds

24 set forth in paragraph (1) shall be adjusted by the

25 Secretary of Labor to the amount that is equal to
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1 the fiscal year 1995 constant dollar value of such

2 amount. Any amount, as so adjusted, shall be round3 ed to the nearest $1,000. The adjusted threshold

4 shall be effective upon publication in the Federal

5 Register to contracts for which bids are solicited or

6 negotiations concluded after such publication.

7 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON SPLITTING CONTRACTS;

8 WAGES BASED ON CONTRACT OPTION.—

9 ‘‘(A) SPLITTING CONTRACTS.—No project

10 that would, if procured under a single contract,

11 be subject to the requirements of this Act may

12 be divided into multiple contracts of lesser value

13 to avoid the application of this Act.

14 ‘‘(B) WAGES BASED ON CONTRACT OP15 TION.—A contract—

16 ‘‘(i) under which work is performed

17 over a period of time beyond that period

18 set forth in the original contract because of

19 the exercise of an option provision con20 tained in such contract (as opposed to

21 cases in which a contractor is given an ex22 tension of time in which to complete its

23 original contractual commitment); and

24 ‘‘(ii) that exceeds the applicable

25 threshold set forth in paragraph (1),
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1 shall include the wages determined by the Sec2 retary of Labor at the commencement of such

3 work to be prevailing for the corresponding

4 classes of laborers and mechanics employed on

5 projects of a character similar to such work in

6 the locality where such work is to be performed,

7 or in the District of Columbia if such work is

8 to be performed there.

9 ‘‘(6) PREEMPTION.—Neither the requirements

10 of subsection (a) nor the provisions of any other

11 Federal law or regulation related to prevailing wages

12 shall, solely by reason of such prevailing wage provi13 sions preempt the application of requirements for

14 the payment of wages or fringe benefits or both

15 adopted by State, local, or tribal governments other16 wise applicable to contracts for the construction, re17 habilitation or reconstruction, repair or alteration,

18 including painting and decorating, of buildings and

19 works financed in whole or in part by loans, grants,

20 revolving funds, or other assistance from the United

21 States, unless compliance with such requirement

22 would make it impossible to comply with the require23 ments of subsection (a).

24 ‘‘(c) APPRENTICES, TRAINEES, AND HELPERS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) APPRENTICES.—An apprentice who is em2 ployed under a contract subject to subsection (a)

3 may be paid less than the rate required by such sub4 section if the apprentice is—

5 ‘‘(A) employed pursuant to, and individ6 ually registered in, a bona fide apprenticeship

7 program registered with the Bureau of Appren8 ticeship and Training of the Department of

9 Labor or with a State apprenticeship agency

10 recognized by the Bureau; or

11 ‘‘(B) employed in the apprentice’s first 90

12 days of probationary employment as an appren13 tice in such an apprenticeship program de14 scribed in subparagraph (A) and is not individ15 ually registered in the program but has been

16 certified by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and

17 Training or a State apprenticeship agency

18 (where appropriate) to be eligible for probation19 ary employment as an apprentice.

20 ‘‘(2) TRAINEES.—A trainee who is employed

21 under a contract subject to subsection (a) may be

22 paid less than the rate required by such subsection

23 if the trainee is employed pursuant to, and individ24 ually registered in, a program that has received

25 prior approval which is evidenced by formal certifi-
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1 cation by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Train2 ing of the Department of Labor.

3 ‘‘(3) HELPERS.—A helper who is employed

4 under a contract subject to subsection (a) may be

5 paid less than the rate required by such subsection

6 if—

7 ‘‘(A) the helper is employed in a classifica8 tion of helpers the use of which prevails in the

9 area in which the helper is employed;

10 ‘‘(B) the scope of the duties of the helper

11 is defined and is separate and distinct from the

12 duties of either a laborer or a mechanic; and

13 ‘‘(C) the helper is not used as an informal

14 apprentice or trainee.

15 ‘‘(4) WAGE RATES.—Notwithstanding any other

16 provision of law, no apprentice or trainee will be per17 mitted to work under a contract subject to sub18 section (a) at less than the prevailing wage rate un19 less such apprentice or trainee is registered in a pro20 gram described in paragraph (1) or (2).

21 ‘‘(d) WAGES.—

22 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—As used in this Act the

23 terms ‘wages’, ‘scale of wages’, ‘wage rates’, ‘mini24 mum wages’, and ‘prevailing wages’ shall include—

25 ‘‘(A) the basic hourly rate of pay; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the amount of—

2 ‘‘(i) the rate of contribution irrev3 ocably made by a contractor or subcontrac4 tor to a trustee or to a third person pursu5 ant to a fund, plan, or program; and

6 ‘‘(ii) the rate of costs to the contrac7 tor or subcontractor which may be reason8 ably anticipated in providing benefits to la9 borers and mechanics pursuant to an en10 forceable commitment to carry out a finan11 cially responsible plan or program that was

12 communicated in writing to the laborers

13 and mechanics affected,

14 for medical or hospital care, pensions on retire15 ment or death, compensation for injuries or ill16 ness resulting from occupational activity, or in17 surance to provide any of the foregoing, for un18 employment benefits, life insurance, disability

19 and sickness insurance, or accident insurance,

20 for vacation and holiday pay, for defraying

21 costs of apprenticeship or other similar pro22 grams, or for other bona fide fringe benefits,

23 but only where the contractor or subcontractor

24 is not required by other Federal, State, or local

25 law to provide any of such benefits,
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1 except that the obligation of a contractor or sub2 contractor to make payment in accordance with the

3 prevailing wage determinations of the Secretary of

4 Labor, insofar as this Act and other Acts incorporat5 ing this Act by reference are concerned may be dis6 charged by the making of payments in cash, by the

7 making of contributions of a type referred to in sub8 paragraph (B)(i), or by the assumption of an en9 forceable commitment to bear the costs of a plan or

10 program of a type referred to in subparagraph

11 (B)(ii), or any combination thereof, where the aggre12 gate of any such payments, contributions, and costs

13 is not less than the rate of pay described in subpara14 graph (A) plus the amount referred to in subpara15 graph (B).

16 ‘‘(2) OVERTIME.—In determining the overtime

17 pay to which the laborer or mechanic is entitled

18 under any Federal law, the regular or basic hourly

19 rate of pay of the laborer or mechanic (or other al20 ternative rate upon which premium rate of overtime

21 compensation is computed) shall be deemed to be the

22 rate computed under subparagraph (A) of paragraph

23 (1), except that where the amount of payments, con24 tributions, or costs incurred with respect to the la25 borer or mechanic exceeds the prevailing wage appli-
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1 cable to the laborer or mechanic under this Act,

2 such regular or basic hourly rate of pay (or such

3 other alternative rate) shall be arrived at by deduct4 ing from the amount of payments, contributions, or

5 costs, actually incurred with respect to the laborer or

6 mechanic, the amount of contributions or costs of

7 the types described in subparagraph (B) of para8 graph (1) actually incurred with respect to the la9 borer or mechanic, or the amount determined under

10 paragraph (B) of paragraph (1) but not actually

11 paid, whichever amount is the greater.

12 ‘‘(3) WAGE PAYMENTS IN GENERAL.—Except

13 as provided in paragraph (4), the obligation of a

14 contractor or subcontractor to make wage payments

15 in accordance with the prevailing wage determina16 tions of the Secretary, insofar as this Act and other

17 Acts incorporating this Act by reference are con18 cerned, may be discharged by—

19 ‘‘(A) the making of payments in cash;

20 ‘‘(B) the making of contributions of a type

21 referred to in paragraph (1)(B)(i);

22 ‘‘(C) the assumption of an enforceable

23 commitment to bear the costs of a plan or pro24 gram of a type referred to in paragraph

25 (1)(B)(ii); or
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1 ‘‘(D) any combination thereof.

2 ‘‘(4) CONTRIBUTIONS AND COSTS.—Unless oth3 erwise provided in a bona fide collective bargaining

4 agreement, in discharging the obligation to make

5 wage payments to laborers and mechanics in accord6 ance with the prevailing wage determinations of the

7 Secretary of Labor, a contractor or subcontractor

8 may only include contributions described in para9 graph (1)(B)(i) and costs described in paragraph

10 (1)(B)(ii) that do not exceed the aggregate of con11 tributions and costs determined by the Secretary of

12 Labor to be prevailing. Credit for contributions

13 made to a fringe benefit plan shall be allowed only

14 to the extent that such contributions are based on

15 the effective annual rate of contributions for all

16 hours worked during the calendar year by all the la17 borers and mechanics covered by the plan.’’.

18 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 3 of the Act of March

19 3, 1931 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’)

20 (40 U.S.C. 276a–2) is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT.

22 ‘‘(a) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—

23 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary of Labor is

24 authorized and directed to pay directly to laborers

25 and mechanics from any accrued payments withheld
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1 under the contract described in section 1(b)(1) or

2 any contract between the same contractor and the

3 United States or the District of Columbia or under

4 any federally assisted contract subject to the prevail5 ing wage requirements of this Act any wages found

6 to be due laborers and mechanics pursuant to this

7 Act. Any sum not paid to a laborer or mechanic

8 under this paragraph by the Secretary of Labor be9 cause of inability to do so within 3 years shall be

10 deposited into the miscellaneous receipts of the Unit11 ed States Treasury. If the accrued payments with12 held are insufficient to reimburse all the laborers

13 and mechanics with respect to whom there has been

14 a failure to pay the wages required by this Act, the

15 Secretary of Labor or any laborer or mechanic or

16 any organization authorized to represent such labor17 ers or mechanics may, within 180 days of the con18 clusion of all administrative proceedings, bring an

19 action against the contractor and the contractor’s

20 sureties or other responsible parties for the payment

21 of wages found due by the Secretary of Labor. In

22 such an action, it shall be no defense that such la23 borers and mechanics accepted or agreed to accept

24 less than the required rate of wages or voluntarily

25 made refunds. Any suit instituted under this para-
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1 graph shall be brought in the United States district

2 court for the district in which the contract was per3 formed, where the contractor or subcontractor is

4 currently doing business, or where the contractor or

5 subcontractor maintains its payroll records, irrespec6 tive of the amount in controversy in such suit. In

7 such suits, the parties must conform to chapter 7

8 of title 5, United States Code.

9 ‘‘(2) DEBARMENT.—The Secretary of Labor is

10 authorized and directed to provide the names of per11 sons or firms whom the Secretary has found to have

12 disregarded their obligations to employees and sub13 contractors or to a contractor, which has made res14 titution for wage under payments by a subcontrac15 tor, to the General Services Administration for inclu16 sion in the Governmentwide List of Parties Excluded

17 From Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement

18 Programs. No contract shall be awarded to the per19 sons or firms appearing on such list or to any firm,

20 corporation, partnership, or association in which

21 such persons or firms have an interest until—

22 ‘‘(A) 3 years have elapsed from the date

23 the names of such persons or firms are entered

24 on the electronic version of such list; or
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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of a subcontractor that

2 has failed to reimburse a contractor for pay3 ments made as restitution for wages under pay4 ments by such subcontractor, the contractor is

5 fully reimbursed, including accrued interest.

6 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Labor

7 shall prescribe standards, regulations, and proce8 dures, in order to ensure coordination of administra9 tion and consistency of enforcement of this Act, that

10 shall be observed by the Federal agencies responsible

11 for administration of contracts described in sub12 section (b) of section 1. The Secretary of Labor and

13 the Federal agencies awarding contracts or provid14 ing financial assistance to projects are authorized to

15 investigate compliance by any contractor or sub16 contractor with the requirements of the Act, and

17 may take such action to secure compliance with such

18 requirements as may be appropriate. The Secretary

19 of Labor shall have the power to issue orders requir20 ing the attendance and testimony of witnesses and

21 the production of evidence under oath. Witnesses

22 shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are

23 paid witnesses in the courts of the United States. In

24 the case of contumacy, failure, or refusal of any per25 son to obey the order issued under this paragraph,
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1 any district court of the United States or of any ter2 ritory or possession, within the jurisdiction of which

3 the inquiry is carried on, or within the jurisdiction

4 of which said person who is guilty of contumacy,

5 failure, or refusal is found, or resides or transacts

6 business, upon application by the petitioner, shall

7 have jurisdiction to issue to such person an order re8 quiring such person to appear before the Secretary

9 of Labor or a representative designated by the Sec10 retary of Labor, to produce evidence if, as, and when

11 so, ordered, and to give testimony relating to the

12 matter under investigation or in question, and any

13 failure to obey such order of the court may be pun14 ished by said court as a contempt thereof.

15 ‘‘(b) REVIEW PROCEDURES.—

16 ‘‘(1) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—The Sec17 retary of Labor shall issue regulations providing pro18 cedures for making determinations regarding the ap19 plication of this Act to contracts.

20 ‘‘(2) COVERAGE REVIEW.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any interested person,

22 as defined in regulations issued by the Sec23 retary of Labor, shall have the right to request

24 the Secretary of Labor to make a determination

25 regarding the applicability of the Act to a con-
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1 tract. Such determination shall be binding upon

2 the Federal agencies awarding contracts or pro3 viding financial assistance and any recipient of

4 financial assistance. If the Secretary of Labor

5 notifies the contracting agency that the contract

6 is subject to the Act, the contracting agency

7 shall include in the contract the provisions re8 quired by section 1, including any applicable

9 wage determination issued by the Secretary of

10 Labor or the authorized representative of the

11 Secretary of Labor, through the exercise of any

12 and all authority that may be needed (includ13 ing, where necessary, its authority to negotiate

14 or amend, its authority to pay any necessary

15 additional costs, and its authority under any

16 contract provision authorizing changes, can17 cellation, and termination).

18 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—Any person adversely af19 fected or aggrieved by a determination by the

20 Secretary of Labor made on a petition filed

21 pursuant to subparagraph (A), may obtain re22 view of such determination in any United

23 States court of appeals for the circuit in which

24 such person is located, or in the United States

25 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia,
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1 by filing in such court within 60 days following

2 issuance of such determination, a written peti3 tion praying that such determination be modi4 fied or set aside. A copy of such petition shall

5 be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the

6 court in which it is filed to the Secretary of

7 Labor and to other interested persons. Review

8 shall conform to chapter 7 of title 5, United

9 States Code.

10 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE PETITION PROCEDURE.—

11 ‘‘(1) PETITION.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any

13 other provision of this Act, any laborer or me14 chanic employed to perform work under a con15 tract with the United States or the District of

16 Columbia or any other contract described in

17 section 1(b), or any organization authorized by

18 such laborer or mechanic, may file a petition

19 with the Secretary of Labor on behalf of such

20 laborer or mechanic, as well as on behalf of all

21 other similarly situated laborers and mechanics

22 employed by the same employer pursuant to the

23 same contract, for a hearing to determine if

24 wage payments by such employer were made in

25 accordance with section 1(a).
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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION PERIOD.—The petition

2 described in subparagraph (A) shall be filed in

3 accordance with the limitations period set forth

4 in section 6(b) of the Portal-to-Portal Act of

5 1947 (29 U.S.C. 255(b)), except that such limi6 tations period shall be tolled if compliance by

7 the employer with the requirements of this Act

8 is under investigation by the Secretary of

9 Labor, or the application of this Act to such

10 contract is being reviewed by the Secretary of

11 Labor.

12 ‘‘(C) DEFENSE.—It shall be no defense

13 that such laborers and mechanics accepted or

14 agreed to accept less than the required rate of

15 wages or fringe benefits, or voluntarily made re16 funds or authorized deductions from their pay,

17 unless otherwise permitted under the terms of

18 this Act or applicable regulations issued by the

19 Secretary of Labor.

20 ‘‘(2) REFERRAL TO THE CHIEF ADMINISTRA21 TIVE LAW JUDGE.—The petition described in sub22 paragraph (A) of paragraph (1) shall be referred to

23 the Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Depart24 ment of Labor for assignment to an Administrative

25 Law Judge to make the determination requested by
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1 the petition. No petition shall be referred to the

2 Chief Administrative Law Judge under this section

3 that concerns alleged underpayment of wages or

4 fringe benefits that is already the subject of an ad5 ministrative proceeding or judicial action initiated by

6 the Secretary of Labor for such wages or fringe ben7 efit payments pursuant to the authority of the Sec8 retary of Labor under this Act.

9 ‘‘(3) HEARINGS.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrative

11 Law Judge shall conduct a hearing on the

12 record in accordance with section 554 of title 5,

13 United States Code, with respect to such peti14 tion.

15 ‘‘(B) WITHHOLDING OF SUMS.—Upon de16 termination by the Administrative Law Judge

17 that a petitioner is likely to succeed on the mer18 its of the claim of petitioner, the Administrative

19 Law Judge shall notify the Secretary of Labor

20 who shall direct the Secretary of the depart21 ment or the head of the agency, or contracting

22 authority which entered into the contract sub23 ject to the requirements of section 1, to with24 hold from any amounts payable on account of

25 work performed by the contractor or sub-
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1 contractor under such contract, any other con2 tract described in section 1(b), or any other fed3 erally funded or assisted contract the contractor

4 or subcontractor may have with the same con5 tractor, such sums as may be determined to be

6 necessary to satisfy any liabilities of such con7 tractor or subcontractor for unpaid wages and

8 reasonable attorney’s fees and costs as provided

9 in section 3(c)(5)(B).

10 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF APPLICABIL11 ITY.—Any petition that requires a determina12 tion of the applicability of the Act shall first be

13 referred by the Administrative Law Judge to

14 the Secretary or Labor for the opportunity to

15 make such a determination.

16 ‘‘(4) PROCEDURES.—

17 ‘‘(A) WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.—The

18 Administrative Law Judge shall have the power

19 to issue orders requiring the attendance and

20 testimony of witnesses and the production of

21 evidence under oath. Witnesses shall be paid

22 the same fees and mileage that are paid wit23 nesses in the courts of the United States.

24 ‘‘(B) CONTUMACY.—In the case of contu25 macy, failure, or refusal of any person to obey
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1 the order issued under subparagraph (A), any

2 district court of the United States or of any

3 territory or possession, within the jurisdiction

4 of which the inquiry is carried on, or within the

5 jurisdiction of which said person who is guilty

6 of contumacy, failure, or refusal is found, or re7 sides or transacts business, upon an application

8 by the petitioner, shall have jurisdiction to issue

9 to such person an order requiring such person

10 to appear before the Administrative Law Judge

11 or a representative designated by the Adminis12 trative Law Judge, to produce evidence if, as,

13 and when so ordered, and to give testimony re14 lating to the matter under investigation or in

15 question, and any failure to obey such order of

16 the court may be punished by said court as a

17 contempt thereof. The Administrative Law

18 Judge shall then issue a decision as to whether

19 wage payments have been made in accordance

20 with section 1(a).

21 ‘‘(5) REVIEW BY SECRETARY.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within 60 days of the

23 date of issuance of the decision by an Adminis24 trative Law Judge pursuant to paragraph (4),

25 the petitioner or the employer that responded to
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1 the petition may request the Secretary of Labor

2 to review the decision of the Administrative

3 Law Judge.

4 ‘‘(B) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—The deci5 sion of the Administrative Law Judge shall be

6 deemed to be a final agency action if no request

7 for review is made within the 60-day period de8 scribed in subparagraph (A). If such a request

9 is filed, the Secretary shall review the record

10 and either adopt the decision of the Administra11 tive Law Judge or issue exceptions. The deci12 sion of the Administrative Law Judge, together

13 with any exceptions, shall be deemed to be a

14 final agency action.

15 ‘‘(6) DECISION.—The decision of the Adminis16 trative Law Judge, or the Secretary of Labor on a

17 petition under this subsection for the review of wage

18 payments under a contract may include—

19 ‘‘(A) the awarding of damages to the peti20 tioner in an amount equal to the wages or

21 fringe benefit contributions that the responding

22 employer failed to pay in accordance with sec23 tion 1(a);

24 ‘‘(B) the awarding of damages to the peti25 tioner in an amount equal to twice the amount
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1 of wages not paid in accordance with section

2 1(a), if it is found on review of the petition that

3 the responding employer willfully refused to pay

4 wages in accordance with such section; and

5 ‘‘(C) in addition to any award to the peti6 tioner, a reasonable attorney’s fee to be paid by

7 the responding employer and the cost of the ac8 tion.’’.

9 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE COPELAND ACT.

10 Section 2 of the Act of June 13, 1934 (commonly

11 referred to as the ‘‘Copeland Act’’) (40 U.S.C. 276c), is

12 amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘SEC. 2. REGULATIONS GOVERNING CONTRACTORS AND

14 SUBCONTRACTORS.

15 ‘‘(a) REGULATIONS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor

17 shall promulgate regulations for contractors and

18 subcontractors engaged in the construction, prosecu19 tion, completion, repair, or alterations of buildings

20 or works subject to the Act of March 3, 1931 (40

21 U.S.C. 276a et seq.), or to the requirement of pay22 ment of wages determined in accordance with such

23 Act.

24 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations under

25 paragraph (1) shall include provisions—
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1 ‘‘(A) requiring contractors and subcontrac2 tors to submit, along with each payment re3 quest under the contract, a signed statement

4 certifying that all persons employed in the per5 formance of work under the contract have been

6 paid the full amount of wages earned without

7 deductions, except as permitted by regulations

8 under this Act, during the period covered by the

9 payment request and certifying that all payroll

10 records maintained or submitted by the contrac11 tor or subcontractor under subsections (b) and

12 (c) are correct and accurate; and

13 ‘‘(B) requiring lessors to submit every 3

14 months, during the period of construction sub15 ject to the prevailing wage provisions of the Act

16 of March 3, 1931, a signed statement certifying

17 that all persons employed in performance of

18 work under the contract have been paid the full

19 amount of wages earned without deductions, ex20 cept as permitted by regulations under this Act,

21 during the period covered by the payment re22 quest and certifying that all payroll records

23 maintained or submitted by the contractor or

24 subcontractor under subsections (b) and (c) are

25 correct and accurate.
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1 Section 1001 of title 18, United States Code (Crimi2 nal Code and Criminal Procedure) shall apply to

3 such statements.

4 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In the case of

5 contracts that exceed the applicable threshold set forth in

6 paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of the Act of March 3,

7 1931 (40 U.S.C. 276a(b)) (as adjusted under paragraph

8 (4) of subsection (b) of such Act), the regulations under

9 subsection (a)(1) shall provide that all contractors and

10 subcontractors shall furnish—

11 ‘‘(1) with respect to persons employed to per12 form work under such contracts, not later than the

13 10th day of each month, a payroll statement that

14 sets forth at least the—

15 ‘‘(A) name and address;

16 ‘‘(B) social security number;

17 ‘‘(C) employment classification;

18 ‘‘(D) number of hours worked daily and

19 during the payroll period; and

20 ‘‘(E) hourly rates of wages paid (including

21 rates of contributions or costs anticipated for

22 bona fide fringe benefits), all deductions made,

23 and actual wage paid,

24 for each such person for each payroll period ending

25 during the preceding calendar month; and
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1 ‘‘(2) at the time such contractors and sub2 contractors submit under paragraph (1) the initial

3 and final payroll statements with respect to a con4 tract described in this subsection, the—

5 ‘‘(A) name and address of each plan, fund,

6 or program—

7 ‘‘(i) to which contributions are made;

8 or

9 ‘‘(ii) on behalf of which costs are in10 curred for bona fide fringe benefits; and

11 ‘‘(B) amount of each such contributions or

12 costs.

13 ‘‘(c) PAYROLL RECORDS.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each contractor and sub15 contractor shall maintain payroll and other basic

16 records relating to payroll as required by regulations

17 issued by the Secretary of Labor and shall preserve

18 the records for a period of 3 years after completion

19 of the contract work.

20 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF RECORDS.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The contractor or

22 subcontractor shall submit payroll and related

23 records to the contracting officer or the author24 ized representatives of the Secretary of Labor
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1 upon request, and make payroll and related

2 records available for inspection upon request.

3 ‘‘(B) SUSPENSION OF PAYMENTS.—If a

4 contractor or subcontractor fails to make

5 records available in a timely manner as required

6 herein, the Secretary of Labor or authorized

7 representatives of the contracting officer may

8 suspend all payments to the contractor or sub9 contractor.

10 ‘‘(C) STATEMENT.—Notwithstanding the

11 provisions of section 552 of title 5, United

12 States Code, any statement provided under this

13 section, with the exception of social security

14 numbers, may be obtained by any person from

15 any department or agency that is required by

16 law, regulation, or the terms of a contract or

17 grant to maintain a record of such statement.

18 ‘‘(3) SUBPOENA.—The Secretary of Labor may

19 require, by subpoena testimony and the production

20 of payroll and related records, access to which is

21 provided by this section. Any such subpoena in the

22 case of contumacy or refusal to obey, shall be en23 forceable by order of an appropriate United States

24 district court.
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1 ‘‘(4) DEBARMENT.—The Secretary of Labor

2 may debar contractors, subcontractors, or other per3 sons pursuant to section 3(a)(2) of the Act of March

4 3, 1931 who fail to submit payroll records when re5 quested to do so or who fail or refuse to make pay6 roll records available for inspection, including con7 tractors and subcontractors who fail to retain re8 quired records, or who maintain or provide false

9 payroll records.

10 ‘‘(5) PENALTY.—Any contractor, subcontractor,

11 or other person whose duty it shall be to employ, di12 rect, or control any laborer or mechanic employed in

13 the performance of any contract to which this Act

14 applies and who, other than inadvertently, provides

15 false payroll records to the United States under any

16 mechanism provided for in this section, shall be sub17 ject to a fine of not to exceed $25,000.

18 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall not apply to

19 any contract or project that is exempt by its size from

20 the application of the Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly

21 referred to as the ‘Davis-Bacon Act’) (40 U.S.C. 276a et

22 seq.).’’.
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1 SEC. 4. CONTRACT WORK HOURS AND SAFETY STANDARDS

2 ACT.

3 (a) REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS.—Section 104(a) of

4 the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (40

5 U.S.C. 330(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Comptroller Gen6 eral of the United States’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of

7 Labor’’.

8 (b) WILLFUL OR GROSSLY NEGLIGENT VIOLA9 TIONS.—Section 107 of the Contract Work Hours and

10 Safety Standards Act (40 U.S.C. 333) is amended—

11 (1) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘Comptrol12 ler General’’ and inserting ‘‘General Services Admin13 istration’’; and

14 (2) in subsection (d)(2), to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(2) The General Services Administration shall in16 clude each name so transmitted on the Governmentwide

17 List of Parties Excluded From Federal Procurement and

18 Nonprocurement Programs. No contract shall be awarded

19 to the person or firm appearing on the list or to any firm,

20 corporation, partnership, or association in which such per21 son or firm has a substantial interest until 3 years have

22 elapsed from the date the name of the person or firm is

23 entered on the electronic version of the list.’’.

24 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

25 The amendments made by this Act shall apply to all

26 contracts entered into pursuant to negotiations concluded,
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1 or invitations for bid issued, on or after 180 days from

2 the date of enactment of this Act.

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