Union Calendar No. 473

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1231

[Report No. 103–856]

A BILL

To amend the Act of March 3, 1931 (known as the

erage under that Act, and for other purposes.Davis-Bacon Act), to revise the standard for covOCTOBER 7, 1994

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 473

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1231

[Report No. 103–856]

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

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 4, 1993

Mr. MURPHY (for himself and Mr. FORD of Michigan) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

OCTOBER 7, 1994

Additional sponsors: Mr. SANDERS, Mr. OLVER, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. BROWN

of California, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. MINETA, Mr. FISH, Mr. EVANS, Mr.

OWENS, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. FILNER, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BLACKWELL,

Mr. EDWARDS of California, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. PASTOR,

Mr. SHARP, Mr. TORRES, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mr. VENTO, Mr.

FINGERHUT, Mr. WYNN, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. ROEMER, Mr. ANDREWS of

New Jersey, Mr. BARCA of Wisconsin, Mr. HOAGLAND, Mr. NADLER, Mr.

HOLDEN, Mr. ANDREWS of Maine, Mr. MOAKLEY, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr.

RIDGE, Mr. KLINK, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. KREIDLER, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. GORDON, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. BONIOR, Mr.

KOPETSKI, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. KILDEE,

Mr. HAMBURG, Mr. STOKES, Mrs. KENNELLY, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. COPPERSMITH

OCTOBER 7, 1994

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 4, 1993]
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A BILL

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

that 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. DAVIS-BACON ACT REVISION.

4 The Act of March 3, 1931 (known as the Davis-Bacon

5 Act) (40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.) is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

7 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Davis-Bacon Act’.

8 ‘‘SEC. 2. CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.

9 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A contract described in sub11 section (b) shall—

12 ‘‘(A) contain a provision stating that the

13 various classes of laborers and mechanics under

14 the contract shall be paid minimum wages based

15 upon wages determined by the Secretary under

16 subsection (b) to be prevailing for the cor17 responding classes of laborers and mechanics em18 ployed on projects of a character similar to the

19 contract work in the city, town, or other civil

20 subdivision of the State in which the work is to
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1 be performed or in the District of Columbia if

2 the work is to be performed there; and

3 ‘‘(B) contain a stipulation that the contrac4 tor or subcontractor under the contract shall pay

5 all laborers and mechanics under the contract—

6 ‘‘(i) unconditionally;

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

8 and

9 ‘‘(iii) without subsequent deduction or

10 rebate on any account;

11 the full amounts accrued at time of payment ir12 respective of any contractual relationship which

13 may be alleged to exist between the contractor or

14 subcontractor and such laborers or mechanics.

15 ‘‘(2) LABORER OR MECHANIC.—An individual

16 shall for purposes of this subsection be considered a

17 laborer or mechanic under a contract subject to this

18 subsection if the person who entered into the contract

19 paid, directly or through a subcontract, compensation

20 to the individual for services performed as a laborer

21 or mechanic to carry out the contract.

22 ‘‘(b) CONTRACTS COVERED.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless exempted or otherwise

24 limited by Federal law, the requirements of subsection

25 (a) apply to—
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1 ‘‘(A) any contract for the construction,

2 prosecution, completion, alteration, repair, ren3 ovation, or reconstruction of buildings or

4 works—

5 ‘‘(i) to which the United States or the

6 District of Columbia is a party,

7 ‘‘(ii) which is financed in whole or in

8 part by loans, grants, revolving funds or

9 loan guarantees from the United States, or

10 ‘‘(iii) which is to be performed on land

11 owned by the United States, and

12 ‘‘(B) which is in excess of—

13 ‘‘(i) $100,000 for new construction (in14 cluding painting and decorating), or

15 ‘‘(ii) $15,000 for alteration, repair,

16 renovation, rehabilitation, or reconstruction

17 (including painting and decorating),

18 of buildings or works.

19 ‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.—Neither the requirements of

20 subsection (a) or the provisions of any other Federal

21 law or regulation shall preempt the application of re22 quirements for the payment of wages or fringe bene23 fits, or both, adopted by State, local, and tribal

24 governments otherwise applicable to contracts covered

25 under paragraph (1)(A)(ii) or (1)(A)(iii), unless com-
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1 pliance with such requirements would make it impos2 sible to comply with the requirements of subsection

3 (a).

4 ‘‘(3) MULTIPLE CONTRACTS.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any 2 or more

6 contracts for any construction project (including

7 any alteration, repair, renovation, rehabilita8 tion, reconstruction, painting or decorating

9 project) that—

10 ‘‘(i) individually do not exceed the ap11 plicable amount prescribed by paragraph

12 (1)(B);

13 ‘‘(ii) in the aggregate do exceed such

14 amount; and

15 ‘‘(iii) all relate to the same work or re16 lated work at the same project;

17 shall be treated as a single contract for purposes

18 of subsection (a).

19 ‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT.—For the purpose of

20 enforcing the requirements of subsection (a) for

21 contracts which under subparagraph (A) are to

22 be treated as a single contract, any interested

23 person may bring an action against the Sec24 retary of the department, the head of the agency,

25 or contracting authority which entered into such
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1 contracts. Such an action may be brought in any

2 United States district court for the district in

3 which the violation of subsection (a) is alleged to

4 have been committed or in the United States

5 District Court for the District of Columbia. Such

6 an action shall be commenced not later than 90

7 days after the day on which the last labor was

8 performed under the contract with respect to

9 which the action is brought.

10 ‘‘(C) RELIEF.—If in an action brought

11 under subparagraph (B) the court finds that

12 there has been a violation of subsection (a), the

13 court may order such relief as may be appro14 priate, including—

15 ‘‘(i) compliance with subsection (a) in

16 the payment of wages under the contracts

17 subject to subsection (a); and

18 ‘‘(ii) the payment by the Secretary of

19 the department, the head of the agency, or

20 contracting authority which entered into

21 such contracts of prevailing wage rates in

22 accordance with that subsection from the

23 date construction began under the contracts

24 involved in such action until the date of the

25 judgment of the court, together with interest,
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1 at a rate determined by the court, based on

2 the difference between the wages paid under

3 such contracts and the wages required to be

4 paid under such contracts by subsection (a).

5 ‘‘(D) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—If an interested

6 person prevails in an action brought under sub7 paragraph (B), the court in such action shall as8 sess the defendants in the action a reasonable

9 attorney’s fee and other litigation costs reason10 ably incurred by the interested person.

11 ‘‘(4) LEASES.—If the United States or the Dis12 trict of Columbia has entered into a contract to lease

13 a building or work or portion thereof and if perform14 ance of a contract for the construction, alteration, re15 pair, renovation, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of

16 the building or work or portion thereof subject to the

17 lease is required for fulfillment of the contract to

18 lease, the contract for the construction, alteration, re19 pair, renovation, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of

20 the facility shall be subject to subsection (a) if the

21 contract meets the requirements of paragraph (1)(B).

22 ‘‘(c) APPRENTICES, TRAINEES, AND HELPERS.—

23 ‘‘(1) APPRENTICES.—An apprentice who is em24 ployed under a contract subject to subsection (a) may
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1 be paid less than the rate required by such subsection

2 if the apprentice is—

3 ‘‘(A) employed pursuant to and individ4 ually registered in a bona fide apprenticeship

5 program registered with the Bureau of Appren6 ticeship and Training of the Department of

7 Labor or with a State Apprenticeship Agency

8 recognized by the Bureau; or

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

10 days of probationary employment as an appren11 tice in such an apprenticeship program and is

12 not individually registered in the program but

13 has been certified by the Bureau of Apprentice14 ship and Training or a State Apprenticeship

15 Agency (where appropriate) to be eligible for

16 probationary employment as an apprentice.

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

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

19 paid less than the rate required by such subsection if

20 the trainee is employed pursuant to and individually

21 registered in a program which has received prior ap22 proval which is evidenced by formal certification by

23 the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training of the De24 partment of Labor.
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1 ‘‘(3) WAGE RATES.—Notwithstanding any other

2 provision of law, no apprentice or trainee will be per3 mitted to work under a contract subject to subsection

4 (a) at less than the prevailing wage rate unless such

5 apprentice or trainee is registered in a program de6 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2).

7 ‘‘(4) HELPERS.—A helper who is employed

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

9 paid less than the rate required by such subsection

10 if—

11 ‘‘(A) the helper is employed in a classifica12 tion of helpers the use of which prevails in the

13 area in which the helper is employed;

14 ‘‘(B) the scope of the duties of the helper is

15 defined and is separate and distinct from the du16 ties of either a laborer or a mechanic; and

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

18 apprentice or trainee.

19 ‘‘(d) POSTING.—A contractor or subcontractor under

20 a contract described in subsection (b) shall post the scale

21 of wages required to be paid under such contract in a

22 prominent and easily accessible place at the site of the con23 tract work.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 3. WAGES.

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—As used in this Act, the terms

3 ‘wages’, ‘scale of wages’, ‘wage rates’, and ‘minimum wages’

4 include—

5 ‘‘(1) the basic hourly rate of pay, and

6 ‘‘(2) the amount of—

7 ‘‘(A) the rate of contribution irrevocably

8 made by a contractor or subcontractor to a trust9 ee or to a third person pursuant to a fund, plan,

10 or program; and

11 ‘‘(B) the rate of costs to the contractor or

12 subcontractor which may be reasonably antici13 pated in providing benefits to laborers and me14 chanics pursuant to an enforceable commitment

15 to carry out a financially responsible plan or

16 program which was communicated in writing to

17 the laborers and mechanics affected,

18 for medical or hospital care, pensions on retirement

19 or death, compensation for injuries or illness resulting

20 from occupational activity, or insurance to provide

21 any of the foregoing, for unemployment benefits, life

22 insurance, disability and sickness insurance, or acci23 dental insurance, for vacation and holiday pay, for

24 defraying costs of apprenticeship, joint labor-manage25 ment committees or similar programs, or for other

26 bona fide fringe benefits, but only if the contractor or
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1 subcontractor is not required by other Federal, State,

2 or local law to provide any of such benefits.

3 ‘‘(b) PREVAILING WAGE.—

4 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—For purposes of paragraph

5 (2), the term ‘prevailing wage’ when used to describe

6 the wages required to be paid a laborer or mechanic

7 under a contract subject to section 2(a) means the

8 wages determined by the Secretary to be prevailing

9 for the corresponding classes of laborers and mechan10 ics employed on projects of a character similar to the

11 contract work in the city, town, or other civil subdivi12 sion of the State in which the work is to be performed

13 or in the District of Columbia if the work is to be

14 performed there. In making such a determination for

15 projects of a particular character in an area, the Sec16 retary shall consider the wages paid for all projects

17 regardless of the source of funding of the same char18 acter in the area under contracts which have been en19 tered into for amounts not less than the amounts pre20 scribed by clause (i) or (ii) of section 2(b)(1)(B).

21 ‘‘(2) WAGE DETERMINATIONS.—For purposes of

22 a contract subject to section 2(a), the Secretary shall

23 issue wage determinations based upon the most recent

24 data that is submitted to the Secretary. No wage de25 termination that is based on data that is older than
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1 3 years shall be considered ‘prevailing’ within the

2 meaning of this Act. In the event that the Secretary

3 has no such data, the prevailing wage for purposes of

4 such contract shall be the highest prevailing wage de5 termined by the Secretary to be prevailing in an area

6 in the State which is comparable to the area in which

7 the contract is to be performed.

8 ‘‘(c) WAGE PAYMENTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), the obligation of a contractor or sub11 contractor to make wage payments in accordance

12 with the prevailing wage determinations of the Sec13 retary, insofar as this Act and other Acts incorporat14 ing this Act by reference are concerned, may be dis15 charged by—

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

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

18 referred to in subsection (a)(2);

19 ‘‘(C) the assumption of an enforceable com20 mitment to bear the costs of a plan or program

21 of a type referred to in subsection (a)(2); or

22 ‘‘(D) any combination thereof.

23 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTIONS AND COSTS.—Unless other24 wise provided in a bona fide collective bargaining

25 agreement, in discharging the obligation to make
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1 wage payments to laborers and mechanics in accord2 ance with the prevailing wage determinations of the

3 Secretary, a contractor or subcontractor may only in4 clude contributions described in subsection (a)(2)(A)

5 and costs described in subsection (a)(2)(B) which do

6 not exceed the aggregate of contributions and costs de7 termined by the Secretary to be prevailing under sub8 section (b). Credit for contributions made to a fringe

9 benefit plan will be allowed only to the extent that

10 they are based on the effective annual rate of con11 tributions for all hours worked during the calendar

12 year by the laborers and mechanics covered by the

13 plan.

14 ‘‘(d) OVERTIME.—In determining the overtime pay to

15 which a laborer or mechanic is entitled under any Federal

16 law, the regular or basic hourly rate of pay (or other alter17 native rate upon which premium rate of overtime com18 pensation is computed) of the laborer or mechanic shall be

19 deemed to be the basic hourly rate of pay, except that where

20 the amount of payments, contributions, or costs incurred

21 with respect to the laborer or mechanic exceeds the prevail22 ing wage applicable under subsection (b), the basic hourly

23 rate of pay shall be arrived at by deducting from the

24 amount of payments, contributions, or costs actually in25 curred with respect to the laborer or mechanic, the amount
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1 of contributions or costs of the type described in subsection

2 (a)(2) actually incurred with respect to the laborer or me3 chanic or the amount determined under subsection (a)(2)

4 but not actually paid, whichever amount is the greater.

5 ‘‘SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.

6 ‘‘(a) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary, on

7 the initiative of the Secretary or at the request of a laborer,

8 mechanic, or interested person, shall investigate compliance

9 by a contractor with the requirements of section 2 and may

10 take such action under section 7(1) to secure compliance

11 with such requirements as may be appropriate.

12 ‘‘(b) COVERAGE REVIEW.—

13 ‘‘(1) PETITION FOR REVIEW OF COVERAGE.—If

14 the Secretary of a department, head of an agency, or

15 contracting authority determines that a contract en16 tered into by the Secretary, agency head, or contract17 ing authority which involves construction (including

18 alteration, repair, renovation, rehabilitation, recon19 struction, painting, or decorating) of a building or

20 works is not subject to section 2(a), any interested

21 person may petition the Administrator to review such

22 determination. The Administrator shall complete the

23 review requested and issue a decision within 60 days

24 of the date the petition is received. Such decision shall

25 be reviewable by the Secretary of Labor who shall
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1 make a determination within 90 days. Such deter2 mination shall be binding upon the Secretary of a de3 partment, agency head or contracting authority.

4 ‘‘(2) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any interested person

6 adversely affected or aggrieved by—

7 ‘‘(i) the determination by the Secretary

8 of Labor made on a petition filed under

9 paragraph (1), or

10 ‘‘(ii) failure of the Secretary to take

11 action concerning a petition filed under

12 paragraph (1),

13 may obtain review of such determination in any

14 United States court of appeals for the circuit in

15 which such person is located or in the United

16 States Court of Appeals for the District of Co17 lumbia Circuit by filing in such court, within 60

18 days following issuance of such determination, a

19 written petition praying that such determination

20 be modified or set aside. A copy of such petition

21 shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the

22 court in which it is filed to the Secretary and to

23 other interested persons.

24 ‘‘(B) FILING OF RECORD.—Upon transmit25 tal of the petition, the Secretary shall file in the
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1 court the record of the proceeding upon which the

2 decision to be reviewed was made and the ques3 tions determined in the proceeding as provided

4 in section 2112 of title 28, United States Code.

5 Upon such filing, the court—

6 ‘‘(i) shall have exclusive jurisdiction of

7 the proceeding and of the questions deter8 mined in the proceeding; and

9 ‘‘(ii) shall have the power—

10 ‘‘(I) to grant such temporary re11 lief or restraining order as it deems

12 just and proper;

13 ‘‘(II) to decide all relevant ques14 tions of law, interpret constitutional

15 and statutory provisions, and deter16 mine the meaning or applicability of

17 the terms of the determination subject

18 to review and in so doing, the court

19 shall apply the standards of review set

20 forth in section 706 of title 5, United

21 States Code;

22 ‘‘(III) to make and enter upon the

23 pleadings, testimony, and proceedings

24 set forth in the record a decree affirm25 ing, modifying, or setting aside, in
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1 whole or in part, the determination

2 subject to review; and

3 ‘‘(IV) to enforce such determina4 tion to the extent that it is affirmed or

5 modified.

6 The decision of the court shall be final except

7 that it shall be subject to review by the Supreme

8 Court of the United States as provided in section

9 1254 of title 28, United States Code.

10 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT PROCEDURE.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any laborer or mechanic

12 under—

13 ‘‘(A) a contract with the United States or

14 the District of Columbia, or

15 ‘‘(B) any other contract described in section

16 2(b)(1),

17 or any interested person may file an administrative

18 complaint with the Administrator to review the wage

19 payments to the laborer or mechanic under such con20 tract to determine if the wage payments have been

21 made in accordance with section 2(a).

22 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—

23 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—The Administrator

24 shall determine if wage payments have been

25 made in accordance with section 2(a) within 120
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1 days of the receipt of the administrative com2 plaint.

3 ‘‘(B) HEARING.—Either the complainant or

4 the employer involved in the administrative com5 plaint may, within 15 days of the date of issu6 ance of the determination of the Administrator,

7 request a hearing on the determination by an

8 administrative law judge. The determination of

9 the Administrator shall be deemed to be a final

10 agency action if no request for a hearing is made

11 within such 15 days.

12 ‘‘(C) REQUEST FOR REFERENCE.—If the

13 Administrator does not make a determination on

14 an administrative complaint within 120 days of

15 its receipt, the complainant may request that the

16 administrative complaint be referred to the Chief

17 Administrative Law Judge of the Department of

18 Labor for assignment to an Administrative Law

19 Judge of the Department of Labor to make the

20 determination requested by the administrative

21 complaint.

22 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The administrative law

24 judge—
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1 ‘‘(i) to whom a determination of the

2 Administrator has been referred under a re3 quest for a hearing under paragraph (2)(B);

4 or

5 ‘‘(ii) to whom an administrative com6 plaint has been referred under a request for

7 a hearing pursuant to paragraph (2)(C);

8 shall within 90 days of a request conduct a hear9 ing on the record in accordance with section 554

10 of title 5, United States Code, with respect to

11 such administrative complaint or determination.

12 ‘‘(B) HEARINGS.—In any proceeding before

13 an administrative law judge, the employer under

14 the contract reviewed shall have the burden of

15 demonstrating that the wage payments under the

16 contract were made in accordance with such sec17 tion. The administrative law judge shall have the

18 power to issue orders requiring the attendance

19 and testimony of witnesses and the production of

20 evidence under oath. Witnesses shall be paid the

21 same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in

22 the courts of the United States. In the case of

23 contumacy, failure, or refusal of any person to

24 obey such order, any District Court of the United

25 States or of any Territory or possession, within
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1 the jurisdiction of which the inquiry is carried

2 on, or within the jurisdiction of which said per3 son who is guilty of contumacy, failure, or re4 fusal is found, or resides or transacts business,

5 upon the application by the Administrator or the

6 complainant, shall have jurisdiction to issue to

7 such person an order requiring such person to

8 appear before him or representative designated

9 by him, to produce evidence if, as, and when so

10 ordered, and to give testimony relating to the

11 matter under investigation or in question; and

12 any failure to obey such order of the court may

13 be punished by said court as a contempt thereof.

14 The administrative law judge shall issue a deci15 sion as to whether wage payments have been

16 made in accordance with section 2(a) within 30

17 days after he receives the transcript of the hear18 ing proceedings.

19 ‘‘(C) REVIEW BY SECRETARY.—Within 30

20 days of the date of issuance of the decision by an

21 administrative law judge, the complainant or the

22 employer involved in the petition may request

23 the Secretary to review the decision of the ad24 ministrative law judge. The decision of the ad25 ministrative law judge shall be deemed to be a
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1 final agency action if no request for review is

2 made within such 30-day period or, within 30

3 days of the date the decision is made, the Sec4 retary does not grant a request to review the de5 cision of the administrative law judge.

6 ‘‘(D) GRANTING OF REQUEST TO REVIEW.—

7 The Secretary may grant a request to review a

8 decision of an administrative law judge only if

9 the Secretary determines that the request pre10 sents a substantial question of law or fact. If the

11 Secretary grants a request for a review, the Sec12 retary, within 90 days after receiving the re13 quest, shall review the record and either adopt

14 the decision of the administrative law judge or

15 issue exceptions. The decision of the administra16 tive law judge, together with any exceptions,

17 shall be deemed to be a final agency action.

18 ‘‘(4) WITHHOLDING OF SUMS.—Upon determina19 tion by the Administrator pursuant to paragraph (2),

20 or the administrative law judge pursuant to para21 graph (3), based on a finding that petitioner is likely

22 to succeed on the merits of his or her claim, the Sec23 retary of Labor shall direct the Secretary of the de24 partment or the head of the agency, or contracting

25 authority which entered into the contract subject to
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1 the requirements of section 2 to withhold from any

2 moneys payable on account of work performed by the

3 contractor or subcontractor under such contract, any

4 other contract described in section 2(b)(1), or any

5 other federally-funded or assisted contract the contrac6 tor or subcontractor may have with the same contrac7 tor, such sums as may be determined to be necessary

8 to satisfy any liabilities of such contractor or sub9 contractor for unpaid wages and liquidated damages

10 as provided in paragraph (5)(A).

11 ‘‘(5) DECISION.—The decision of the Adminis12 trator, an administrative law judge, or the Secretary

13 on a petition under this subsection for the review of

14 the wage payments under a contract may include—

15 ‘‘(A) the awarding of damages to the peti16 tioner in the amount of twice the amount of

17 wages not paid in accordance with section 2(a)

18 if it is found on review of the petition that the

19 petitioner was willfully not paid wages in ac20 cordance with such section; and

21 ‘‘(B) in addition to any award to the peti22 tioner, a reasonable attorney’s fee to be paid by

23 the employer and the cost of the action.

24 ‘‘(6) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall pay di25 rectly to laborers and mechanics from any accrued
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1 payments withheld under the terms of the contract

2 any wages found by the Secretary of Labor under this

3 subsection to be due laborers and mechanics under

4 section 2(a). The Secretary shall distribute a list to

5 all departments of the Federal Government giving the

6 names of the person or corporation, or both, partner7 ship or association the Secretary of Labor has found

8 under this subsection to have disregarded their obliga9 tions to employees and subcontractors. No contract

10 shall be awarded to the persons, corporations, or part11 nerships or associations appearing on this list or to

12 any corporation, partnership, or association in which

13 such persons have an interest until 3 years (or 5

14 years in the case of a second debarment) have elapsed

15 from the date of publication of the list containing the

16 names of such persons or corporation, partnership, or

17 associations.

18 ‘‘(7) RIGHT OF ACTION.—If the accrued pay19 ments withheld under the terms of a contract subject

20 to section 2(a) are insufficient to reimburse all the la21 borers and mechanics with respect to whom there has

22 been a failure to pay the wages required by such sec23 tion, the Secretary shall bring an action against the

24 contractor and the contractor’s sureties for the pay25 ment of the wages required by such section, and in
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1 such an action it shall be no defense that such labor2 ers and mechanics accepted or agreed to accept less

3 than the required rate of wages or voluntarily made

4 refunds.

5 ‘‘(8) TIME.—An action seeking judicial review of

6 a final agency action under this subsection shall be

7 brought within 30 days of the date of such action.

8 ‘‘(d) CIVIL ACTIONS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any employer who violates

10 section 2(a) shall be liable to each laborer or mechanic

11 affected in the amount of the laborer or mechanic’s

12 unpaid wages and, if the violation was willful, in an

13 additional equal amount as liquidated damages.

14 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS.—An action to recover the liability

15 prescribed by paragraph (1) may be maintained

16 against any employer in any Federal or State court

17 of competent jurisdiction by any interested party or

18 by any one or more laborers or mechanics for and in

19 behalf of the laborer or mechanic or laborers or me20 chanics and other laborers or mechanics similarly sit21 uated. No laborer or mechanic may be a party plain22 tiff to any such action unless the laborer or mechanic

23 gives the laborer or mechanic’s consent in writing to

24 become such a party and such consent is filed in the

25 court in which such action is brought. No civil action
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1 may be brought or maintained under this paragraph

2 by a laborer or mechanic with respect to the laborer

3 or mechanic’s wages if a petition is or has been filed

4 by that laborer or mechanic under subsection (c) with

5 respect to the laborer or mechanic’s wages.

6 ‘‘(3) ATTORNEY’S FEE.—The court in an action

7 brought under paragraph (2) shall, in addition to

8 any judgment awarded to the plaintiff or plaintiffs,

9 allow a reasonable attorney’s fee to be paid by the de10 fendant and the cost of the action.

11 ‘‘SEC. 5. TERMINATIONS.

12 ‘‘Every contract subject to section 2(a), shall contain

13 a provision that in the event it is found by the contracting

14 officer or the Administrator that any laborer or mechanic

15 covered by the contract has been or is being paid a rate

16 of wages less than the rate of wages required by section 2(a)

17 to be paid under the contract or subcontract, the Govern18 ment may, by written notice to the contractor, terminate

19 the right of such contractor to proceed with the work or such

20 part of the work as to which there has been a failure to

21 pay the required wages and to prosecute the work to comple22 tion by contract or otherwise. The contractor and its sure23 ties shall be liable to the Government for any excess costs

24 incurred by the Government because of the termination of

25 the contract.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 6. CONSTRUCTION.

2 ‘‘This Act shall not be construed to supersede or impair

3 any authority otherwise granted by Federal law to provide

4 for the establishment of specific wage rates.

5 ‘‘SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION OF ACT.

6 ‘‘The Secretary of Labor shall—

7 ‘‘(1) take such action as may be appropriate to

8 ensure compliance with the requirements of this Act

9 and to enforce its requirements; and

10 ‘‘(2) promulgate appropriate standards and pro11 cedures to be observed by contracting officers with re12 spect to contracts to which this Act applies.

13 An action by the Secretary under section 4 or this section

14 or by a court under section 4 to enforce the requirements

15 of this Act with respect to a contract shall require the appli16 cation of this Act to the contract from the date of the con17 tract or the beginning of the work.

18 ‘‘SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

19 ‘‘As used in this Act:

20 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis21 trator’ means the Administrator of the Wage and

22 Hour Division of the Department of Labor.

23 ‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION, ETC.—The terms ‘construc24 tion’, ‘prosecution’, ‘completion’, ‘repair’, ‘alteration’,

25 ‘renovation’, and ‘reconstruction’ mean all types of

26 work performed by laborers and mechanics which re-
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1 lates to a particular building or work financed in

2 whole or in part by loans, grants, revolving funds or

3 loan guarantees from the United States, or located on

4 land owned by the United States unless exempted or

5 otherwise limited by Federal law, including without

6 limitation, altering, remodeling, painting and deco7 rating, the transporting of materials and supplies to

8 or from the building or work by the employees of the

9 construction contractor or its subcontractors, includ10 ing independent hauling contractors, and the manu11 facturing or furnishing of materials, articles, supplies

12 or equipment for the project from facilities dedicated

13 exclusively, or nearly so, to the prosecution of the

14 building or work financed in whole or in part by

15 loans, grants, revolving funds or loan guarantees from

16 the United States, or located on land owned by the

17 United States unless exempted or otherwise limited by

18 Federal law.

19 ‘‘(3) INTERESTED PERSON.—The term ‘interested

20 person’ means any contractor likely to seek or to work

21 under a contract to which section 2(a) applies, any

22 association representing such a contractor, any la23 borer or mechanic likely to be employed or to seek em24 ployment under such a contract, or any labor
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1 organization which represents such a laborer or me2 chanic.

3 ‘‘(4) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means all

4 construction necessary to complete a new facility,

5 building or work, or to complete an alteration, repair,

6 renovation, rehabilitation, or reconstruction (includ7 ing painting and decorating) of a facility, building or

8 work, regardless of the number of contracts involved

9 so long as all contracts are related in purpose and

10 time.

11 ‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means

12 the Secretary of Labor.’’.

13 SEC. 2. PAYROLL INFORMATION.

14 (a) AMENDMENTS TO COPELAND ACT.—Section 2 of

15 the Act of June 13, 1934 (40 U.S.C. 276c) is amended—

16 (1) in the first sentence, by striking out every17 thing after ‘‘shall’’ the second time it appears and in18 serting in lieu thereof the following: ‘‘maintain pay19 roll and other basic records relating to the payroll for

20 the work on such buildings or public works, preserve

21 such records for a period of 3 years after the comple22 tion of such work, and furnish with respect to em23 ployees employed in such work and not later than the

24 10th day of each month a statement which sets forth

25 the following information for each employee for each
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1 payroll period ending during the preceding calendar

2 month: The name, address, social security number,

3 employment classification, number of hours worked

4 daily and during the payroll period, hourly rates of

5 wages paid (including rates of contributions or costs

6 anticipated for bona fide fringe benefits), all deduc7 tions made, and actual wages paid.’’; and

8 (2) by adding after the first sentence the follow9 ing: ‘‘If a contractor or subcontractor fails timely to

10 submit the certified payroll reports as required herein,

11 the Secretary of the department or the head of the

12 agency which entered into or authorized the funding

13 of the contract subject to the requirements of this sec14 tion shall suspend all payments to the contractor or

15 subcontractor. Any interested person may obtain a

16 copy of any statement provided under this section

17 from any department, agency or contracting author18 ity which is required by law, regulation, or the terms

19 of a contract or grant, to maintain a record of such

20 statement notwithstanding section 552(b) of title 5,

21 United States Code.’’.

22 (b) ELECTRONIC REPORTING.—The Secretary of Labor

23 shall undertake a study to determine the feasibility of em24 ployers using electronic methods to comply with the report25 ing requirements under section 2 of the Act of June 13,
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1 1934. The Secretary shall report to the Congress not later

2 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act

3 on actions taken by the Secretary and employers to facili4 tate electronic reporting of payroll information.

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