I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1231

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

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 Davis5 Bacon Act) (40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.) is amended to read

6 as follows:

7 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

9 ‘‘SEC. 2. CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.

10 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A contract described in

2 subsection (b) shall—

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

4 various classes of laborers and mechanics under

5 the contract shall be paid minimum wages

6 based upon wages determined by the Secretary

7 under subsection (b) to be prevailing for the

8 corresponding classes of laborers and mechanics

9 employed on projects of a character similar to

10 the contract work in the city, town, or other

11 civil subdivision of the State in which the work

12 is to be performed or in the District of Colum13 bia if the work is to be performed there; and

14 ‘‘(B) contain a stipulation that the con15 tractor or subcontractor under the contract

16 shall pay all laborers and mechanics under the

17 contract—

18 ‘‘(i) unconditionally;

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

20 and

21 ‘‘(iii) without subsequent deduction or

22 rebate on any account;

23 the full amounts accrued at time of payment ir24 respective of any contractual relationship which

25 may be alleged to exist between the contractor
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1 or subcontractor and such laborers or mechan2 ics.

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

4 shall for purposes of this subsection be considered a

5 laborer or mechanic under a contract subject to this

6 subsection if the person who entered into the con7 tract paid, directly or through a subcontract, com8 pensation to the individual for services performed as

9 a laborer or mechanic to carry out the contract.

10 ‘‘(b) CONTRACTS COVERED.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless exempted or other12 wise limited by Federal law, the requirements of

13 subsection (a) apply to—

14 ‘‘(A) any contract for the construction,

15 prosecution, completion, alteration, repair, ren16 ovation, demolition or reconstruction of build17 ings or works—

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

19 District of Columbia is a party,

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

21 part by loans, grants, revolving funds or

22 loan guarantees from the United States, or

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

24 owned by the United States, and

25 ‘‘(B) which is in excess of—
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1 ‘‘(i) $100,000 for new construction

2 (including painting and decorating), or

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

4 renovation, rehabilitation, demolition or re5 construction (including painting and deco6 rating),

7 of buildings or works.

8 ‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.—Neither the requirements

9 of subsection (a) or the provisions of any other Fed10 eral law or regulation shall preempt the application

11 of requirements for the payment of wages or fringe

12 benefits, or both, adopted by State, local, and tribal

13 governments otherwise applicable to contracts cov14 ered under paragraph (1)(A)(ii) or (1)(A)(iii), unless

15 compliance with such requirements would make it

16 impossible to comply with the requirements of sub17 section (a).

18 ‘‘(3) MULTIPLE CONTRACTS.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any 2 or more con20 tracts for any construction project (including

21 any alteration, repair, renovation, rehabilitation,

22 reconstruction, demolition, painting or decorat23 ing project) that—
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1 ‘‘(i) individually do not exceed the ap2 plicable amount prescribed by paragraph

3 (1)(B);

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

5 amount; and

6 ‘‘(iii) all relate to the same work or

7 related work at the same project;

8 shall be treated as a single contract for pur9 poses of subsection (a).

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

11 enforcing the requirements of subsection (a) for

12 contracts which under subparagraph (A) are to

13 be treated as a single contract, any interested

14 person may bring an action against the Sec15 retary of the department, the head of the agen16 cy, or contracting authority which entered into

17 such contracts. Such an action may be brought

18 in any United States district court for the dis19 trict in which the violation of subsection (a) is

20 alleged to have been committed or in the United

21 States District Court for the District of Colum22 bia. Such an action shall be commenced not

23 later than 90 days after the day on which the

24 last labor was performed under the contract

25 with respect to which the action is brought.
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1 ‘‘(C) RELIEF.—If in an action brought

2 under subparagraph (B) the court finds that

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

4 court may order such relief as may be appro5 priate, including—

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

7 the payment of wages under the contracts

8 subject to subsection (a); and

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

10 the department, the head of the agency, or

11 contracting authority which entered into

12 such contracts of prevailing wage rates in

13 accordance with that subsection from the

14 date construction began under the con15 tracts involved in such action until the

16 date of the judgment of the court, together

17 with interest, at a rate determined by the

18 court, based on the difference between the

19 wages paid under such contracts and the

20 wages required to be paid under such con21 tracts by subsection (a).

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

23 person prevails in an action brought under sub24 paragraph (B), the court in such action shall

25 assess the defendants in the action a reasonable
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1 attorney’s fee and other litigation costs reason2 ably incurred by the interested person.

3 ‘‘(4) LEASES.—If the United States or the Dis4 trict of Columbia has entered into a contract to lease

5 a building or work or portion thereof and if perform6 ance of a contract for the construction, alteration,

7 repair, renovation, rehabilitation, demolition or re8 construction of the building or work or portion

9 thereof subject to the lease is required for fulfillment

10 of the contract to lease, the contract for the con11 struction, alteration, repair, renovation, rehabilita12 tion, or reconstruction of the facility shall be subject

13 to subsection (a) if the contract meets the require14 ments of paragraph (1)(B).

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

16 ‘‘(1) APPRENTICES.—An apprentice who is em17 ployed under a contract subject to subsection (a)

18 may be paid less than the rate required by such sub19 section if the apprentice is—

20 ‘‘(A) employed pursuant to and individ21 ually registered in a bona fide apprenticeship

22 program registered with the Bureau of Appren23 ticeship and Training of the Department of

24 Labor or with a State Apprenticeship Agency

25 recognized by the Bureau; or
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1 ‘‘(B) employed in the apprentice’s first 90

2 days of probationary employment as an appren3 tice in such an apprenticeship program and is

4 not individually registered in the program but

5 has been certified by the Bureau of Apprentice6 ship and Training or a State Apprenticeship

7 Agency (where appropriate) to be eligible for

8 probationary employment as an apprentice.

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

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

11 paid less than the rate required by such subsection

12 if the trainee is employed pursuant to and individ13 ually registered in a program which has received

14 prior approval which is evidenced by formal certifi15 cation by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Train16 ing of the Department of Labor.

17 ‘‘(3) WAGE RATES.—Notwithstanding any other

18 provision of law, no apprentice or trainee will be per19 mitted to work under a contract subject to sub20 section (a) at less than the prevailing wage rate un21 less such apprentice or trainee is registered in a pro22 gram described in paragraph (1) or (2).

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

24 under a contract subject to subsection (a) may be
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1 paid less than the rate required by such subsection

2 if—

3 ‘‘(A) the helper is employed in a classifica4 tion of helpers the use of which prevails in the

5 area in which the helper is employed;

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

7 is defined and is separate and distinct from the

8 duties of either a laborer or a mechanic; and

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

10 apprentice or trainee.

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

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

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

14 prominent and easily accessible place at the site of the

15 contract work.

16 ‘‘SEC. 3. WAGES.

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

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

19 wages’ include—

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

21 ‘‘(2) the amount of—

22 ‘‘(A) the rate of contribution irrevocably

23 made by a contractor or subcontractor to a

24 trustee or to a third person pursuant to a fund,

25 plan, or program; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the rate of costs to the contractor or

2 subcontractor which may be reasonably antici3 pated in providing benefits to laborers and me4 chanics pursuant to an enforceable commitment

5 to carry out a financially responsible plan or

6 program which was communicated in writing to

7 the laborers and mechanics affected,

8 for medical or hospital care, pensions on retirement

9 or death, compensation for injuries or illness result10 ing from occupational activity, or insurance to pro11 vide any of the foregoing, for unemployment bene12 fits, life insurance, disability and sickness insurance,

13 or accidental insurance, for vacation and holiday

14 pay, for defraying costs of apprenticeship, joint

15 labor-management committees or similar programs,

16 or for other bona fide fringe benefits, but only if the

17 contractor or subcontractor is not required by other

18 Federal, State, or local law to provide any of such

19 benefits.

20 ‘‘(b) PREVAILING WAGE.—

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

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

23 the wages required to be paid a laborer or mechanic

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

25 wages determined by the Secretary to be prevailing
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1 for the corresponding classes of laborers and me2 chanics employed on projects of a character similar

3 to the contract work in the city, town, or other civil

4 subdivision of the State in which the work is to be

5 performed or in the District of Columbia if the work

6 is to be performed there. In making such a deter7 mination for projects of a particular character in an

8 area, the Secretary shall consider the wages paid for

9 all projects regardless of the source of funding of the

10 same character in the area under contracts which

11 have been entered into for amounts not less than the

12 amounts prescribed by clause (i) or (ii) of section

13 2(b)(1)(B).

14 ‘‘(2) WAGE DETERMINATIONS.—For purposes

15 of a contract subject to section 2(a), the Secretary

16 shall issue wage determinations based upon the most

17 recent data that is submitted to the Secretary. No

18 wage determination that is based on data that is

19 older than 3 years shall be considered ‘‘prevailing’’

20 within the meaning of this Act. In the event that the

21 Secretary has no such data, the prevailing wage for

22 purposes of such contract shall be the highest pre23 vailing wage determined by the Secretary to be pre24 vailing in an area in the State which is comparable

25 to the area in which the contract is to be performed.
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1 ‘‘(c) WAGE PAYMENTS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), the obligation of a contractor or sub4 contractor to make wage payments in accordance

5 with the prevailing wage determinations of the Sec6 retary, insofar as this Act and other Acts incor7 porating this Act by reference are concerned, may be

8 discharged by—

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

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

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

12 ‘‘(C) the assumption of an enforceable

13 commitment to bear the costs of a plan or pro14 gram of a type referred to in subsection (a)(2);

15 or

16 ‘‘(D) any combination thereof.

17 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTIONS AND COSTS.—Unless oth18 erwise provided in a bona fide collective bargaining

19 agreement, in discharging the obligation to make

20 wage payments to laborers and mechanics in accord21 ance with the prevailing wage determinations of the

22 Secretary, a contractor or subcontractor may only

23 include contributions described in subsection

24 (a)(2)(A) and costs described in subsection (a)(2)(B)

25 which do not exceed the aggregate of contributions
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1 and costs determined by the Secretary to be prevail2 ing under subsection (b). Credit for contributions

3 made to a fringe benefit plan will be allowed only to

4 the extent that they are based on the effective an5 nual rate of contributions for all hours worked dur6 ing the calendar year by the laborers and mechanics

7 covered by the plan.

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

9 which a laborer or mechanic is entitled under any Federal

10 law, the regular or basic hourly rate of pay (or other alter11 native rate upon which premium rate of overtime com12 pensation is computed) of the laborer or mechanic shall

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

14 where the amount of payments, contributions, or costs in15 curred with respect to the laborer or mechanic exceeds the

16 prevailing wage applicable under subsection (b), the basic

17 hourly rate of pay shall be arrived at by deducting from

18 the amount of payments, contributions, or costs actually

19 incurred with respect to the laborer or mechanic, the

20 amount of contributions or costs of the type described in

21 subsection (a)(2) actually incurred with respect to the la22 borer or mechanic or the amount determined under sub23 section (a)(2) but not actually paid, whichever amount is

24 the greater.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.

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

3 on the initiative of the Secretary or at the request of a

4 laborer, mechanic, or interested person, shall investigate

5 compliance by a contractor with the requirements of sec6 tion 2 and may take such action under section 7(1) to

7 secure compliance with such requirements as may be ap8 propriate.

9 ‘‘(b) COVERAGE REVIEW.—

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

11 the Secretary of a department, head of an agency,

12 or contracting authority determines that a contract

13 entered into by the Secretary, agency head, or con14 tracting authority which involves construction (in15 cluding alteration, repair, renovation, rehabilitation,

16 reconstruction, demolition, painting, or decorating)

17 of a building or works is not subject to section 2(a),

18 any interested person may petition the Adminis19 trator to review such determination. The Adminis20 trator shall complete the review requested and issue

21 a decision within 60 days of the date the petition is

22 received. Such decision shall be reviewable by the

23 Secretary of Labor who shall make a determination

24 within 90 days. Such determination shall be binding

25 upon the Secretary of a department, agency head or

26 contracting authority.
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1 ‘‘(2) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

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

3 adversely affected or aggrieved by—

4 ‘‘(i) the determination by the Sec5 retary of Labor made on a petition filed

6 under paragraph (1), or

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

8 action concerning a petition filed under

9 paragraph (1),

10 may obtain review of such determination in any

11 United States court of appeals for the circuit in

12 which such person is located or in the United

13 States Court of Appeals for the District of Co14 lumbia Circuit by filing in such court, within 60

15 days following issuance of such determination, a

16 written petition praying that such determina17 tion be modified or set aside. A copy of such pe18 tition shall be forthwith transmitted by the

19 clerk of the court in which it is filed to the Sec20 retary and to other interested persons.

21 ‘‘(B) FILING OF RECORD.—Upon transmit22 tal of the petition, the Secretary shall file in the

23 court the record of the proceeding upon which

24 the decision to be reviewed was made and the

25 questions determined in the proceeding as pro-
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1 vided in section 2112 of title 28, United States

2 Code. Upon such filing, the court—

3 ‘‘(i) shall have exclusive jurisdiction of

4 the proceeding and of the questions deter5 mined in the proceeding; and

6 ‘‘(ii) shall have the power—

7 ‘‘(I) to grant such temporary re8 lief or restraining order as it deems

9 just and proper;

10 ‘‘(II) to decide all relevant ques11 tions of law, interpret constitutional

12 and statutory provisions, and deter13 mine the meaning or applicability of

14 the terms of the determination subject

15 to review and in so doing, the court

16 shall apply the standards of review set

17 forth in section 706 of title 5, United

18 States Code;

19 ‘‘(III) to make and enter upon

20 the pleadings, testimony, and proceed21 ings set forth in the record a decree

22 affirming, modifying, or setting aside,

23 in whole or in part, the determination

24 subject to review; and
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1 ‘‘(IV) to enforce such determina2 tion to the extent that it is affirmed

3 or modified.

4 The decision of the court shall be final except

5 that it shall be subject to review by the Su6 preme Court of the United States as provided

7 in section 1254 of title 28, United States Code.

8 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT PROCEDURE.—

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

10 under—

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

12 the District of Columbia, or

13 ‘‘(B) any other contract described in sec14 tion 2(b)(1),

15 or any interested person may file an administrative

16 complaint with the Administrator to review the wage

17 payments to the laborer or mechanic under such

18 contract to determine if the wage payments have

19 been made in accordance with section 2(a).

20 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—

21 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—The Adminis22 trator shall determine if wage payments have

23 been made in accordance with section 2(a) with24 in 120 days of the receipt of the administrative

25 complaint.
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1 ‘‘(B) HEARING.—Either the complainant

2 or the employer involved in the administrative

3 complaint may, within 15 days of the date of is4 suance of the determination of the Adminis5 trator, request a hearing on the determination

6 by an administrative law judge. The determina7 tion of the Administrator shall be deemed to be

8 a final agency action if no request for a hearing

9 is made within such 15 days.

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

11 Administrator does not make a determination

12 on an administrative complaint within 120 days

13 of its receipt, the complainant may request that

14 the administrative complaint be referred to the

15 Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Depart16 ment of Labor for assignment to an Adminis17 trative Law Judge of the Department of Labor

18 to make the determination requested by the ad19 ministrative complaint.

20 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The administrative

22 law judge—

23 ‘‘(i) to whom a determination of the

24 Administrator has been referred under a
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1 request for a hearing under paragraph

2 (2)(B); or

3 ‘‘(ii) to whom an administrative com4 plaint has been referred under a request

5 for a hearing pursuant to paragraph

6 (2)(C);

7 shall within 90 days of a request conduct a

8 hearing on the record in accordance with sec9 tion 554 of title 5, United States Code, with re10 spect to such administrative complaint or deter11 mination.

12 ‘‘(B) HEARINGS.—In any proceeding be13 fore an administrative law judge, the employer

14 under the contract reviewed shall have the bur15 den of demonstrating that the wage payments

16 under the contract were made in accordance

17 with such section. The administrative law judge

18 shall have the power to issue orders requiring

19 the attendance and testimony of witnesses and

20 the production of evidence under oath. Wit21 nesses shall be paid the same fees and mileage

22 that are paid witnesses in the courts of the

23 United States. In the case of contumacy, fail24 ure, or refusal of any person to obey such

25 order, any District Court of the United States
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1 or of any Territory or possession, within the ju2 risdiction of which the inquiry is carried on, or

3 within the jurisdiction of which said person who

4 is guilty of contumacy, failure, or refusal is

5 found, or resides or transacts business, upon

6 the application by the Administrator or the

7 complainant, shall have jurisdiction to issue to

8 such person an order requiring such person to

9 appear before him or representative designated

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

11 ordered, and to give testimony relating to the

12 matter under investigation or in question; and

13 any failure to obey such order of the court may

14 be punished by said court as a contempt there15 of. The administrative law judge shall issue a

16 decision as to whether wage payments have

17 been made in accordance with section 2(a) with18 in 30 days after he receives the transcript of

19 the hearing proceedings.

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

21 days of the date of issuance of the decision by

22 an administrative law judge, the complainant or

23 the employer involved in the petition may re24 quest the Secretary to review the decision of the

25 administrative law judge. The decision of the
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1 administrative law judge shall be deemed to be

2 a final agency action if no request for review is

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

4 days of the date the decision is made, the Sec5 retary does not grant a request to review the

6 decision of the administrative law judge.

7 ‘‘(D) GRANTING OF REQUEST TO RE8 VIEW.—The Secretary may grant a request to

9 review a decision of an administrative law judge

10 only if the Secretary determines that the re11 quest presents a substantial question of law or

12 fact. If the Secretary grants a request for a re13 view, the Secretary, within 90 days after receiv14 ing the request, shall review the record and ei15 ther adopt the decision of the administrative

16 law judge or issue exceptions. The decision of

17 the administrative law judge, together with any

18 exceptions, shall be deemed to be a final agency

19 action.

20 ‘‘(4) WITHHOLDING OF SUMS.—Upon deter21 mination by the Administrator pursuant to para22 graph (2), or the administrative law judge pursuant

23 to paragraph (3), based on a finding that petitioner

24 is likely to succeed on the merits of his or her claim,

25 the Secretary of Labor shall direct the Secretary of
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1 the department or the head of the agency, or con2 tracting authority which entered into the contract

3 subject to the requirements of section 2 to withhold

4 from any moneys payable on account of work per5 formed by the contractor or subcontractor under

6 such contract, any other contract described in sec7 tion 2(b)(1), or any other federally-funded or as8 sisted contract the contractor or subcontractor may

9 have with the same contractor, such sums as may be

10 determined to be necessary to satisfy any liabilities

11 of such contractor or subcontractor for unpaid

12 wages and liquidated damages as provided in para13 graph (5)(A).

14 ‘‘(5) DECISION.—The decision of the Adminis15 trator, an administrative law judge, or the Secretary

16 on a petition under this subsection for the review of

17 the wage payments under a contract may include—

18 ‘‘(A) the awarding of damages to the peti19 tioner in the amount of twice the amount of

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

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

22 petitioner was willfully not paid wages in ac23 cordance with such section; and
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1 ‘‘(B) in addition to any award to the peti2 tioner, a reasonable attorney’s fee to be paid by

3 the employer and the cost of the action.

4 ‘‘(6) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall pay di5 rectly to laborers and mechanics from any accrued

6 payments withheld under the terms of the contract

7 any wages found by the Secretary of Labor under

8 this subsection to be due laborers and mechanics

9 under section 2(a). The Secretary shall distribute a

10 list to all departments of the Federal Government

11 giving the names of the person or corporation, or

12 both, partnership or association the Secretary of

13 Labor has found under this subsection to have dis14 regarded their obligations to employees and sub15 contractors. No contract shall be awarded to the

16 persons, corporations, or partnerships or associa17 tions appearing on this list or to any corporation,

18 partnership, or association in which such persons

19 have an interest until 3 years (or 5 years in the case

20 of a second debarment) have elapsed from the date

21 of publication of the list containing the names of

22 such persons or corporation, partnership, or associa23 tions.

24 ‘‘(7) RIGHT OF ACTION.—If the accrued pay25 ments withheld under the terms of a contract sub-
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1 ject to section 2(a) are insufficient to reimburse all

2 the laborers and mechanics with respect to whom

3 there has been a failure to pay the wages required

4 by such section, the Secretary shall bring an action

5 against the contractor and the contractor’s sureties

6 for the payment of the wages required by such sec7 tion, and in such an action it shall be no defense

8 that such laborers and mechanics accepted or agreed

9 to accept less than the required rate of wages or vol10 untarily made refunds.

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

12 of a final agency action under this subsection shall

13 be brought within 30 days of the date of such ac14 tion.

15 ‘‘(d) CIVIL ACTIONS.—

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

17 section 2(a) shall be liable to each laborer or me18 chanic affected in the amount of the laborer or me19 chanic’s unpaid wages and, if the violation was will20 ful, in an additional equal amount as liquidated

21 damages.

22 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS.—An action to recover the liabil23 ity prescribed by paragraph (1) may be maintained

24 against any employer in any Federal or State court

25 of competent jurisdiction by any interested party or
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1 by any one or more laborers or mechanics for and

2 in behalf of the laborer or mechanic or laborers or

3 mechanics and other laborers or mechanics similarly

4 situated. No laborer or mechanic may be a party

5 plaintiff to any such action unless the laborer or me6 chanic gives the laborer or mechanic’s consent in

7 writing to become such a party and such consent is

8 filed in the court in which such action is brought.

9 No civil action may be brought or maintained under

10 this paragraph by a laborer or mechanic with respect

11 to the laborer or mechanic’s wages if a petition is or

12 has been filed by that laborer or mechanic under

13 subsection (c) with respect to the laborer or

14 mechanic’s wages.

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

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

17 any judgment awarded to the plaintiff or plaintiffs,

18 allow a reasonable attorney’s fee to be paid by the

19 defendant and the cost of the action.

20 ‘‘SEC. 5. TERMINATIONS.

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

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

23 officer or the Administrator that any laborer or mechanic

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

25 of wages less than the rate of wages required by section
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1 2(a) to be paid under the contract or subcontract, the Gov2 ernment may, by written notice to the contractor, termi3 nate the right of such contractor to proceed with the work

4 or such part of the work as to which there has been a

5 failure to pay the required wages and to prosecute the

6 work to completion by contract or otherwise. The contrac7 tor and its sureties shall be liable to the Government for

8 any excess costs incurred by the Government because of

9 the termination of the contract.

10 ‘‘SEC. 6. CONSTRUCTION.

11 ‘‘This Act shall not be construed to supersede or im12 pair any authority otherwise granted by Federal law to

13 provide for the establishment of specific wage rates.

14 ‘‘SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION OF ACT.

15 ‘‘The Secretary of Labor shall—

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

17 ensure compliance with the requirements of this Act

18 and to enforce its requirements; and

19 ‘‘(2) promulgate appropriate standards and pro20 cedures to be observed by contracting officers with

21 respect to contracts to which this Act applies.

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

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

24 of this Act with respect to a contract shall require the
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1 application of this Act to the contract from the date of

2 the contract or the beginning of the work.

3 ‘‘SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

4 ‘‘As used in this Act:

5 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis6 trator’ means the Administrator of the Wage and

7 Hour Division of the Department of Labor.

8 ‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION, ETC.—The terms ‘con9 struction’, ‘prosecution’, ‘completion’, ‘repair’, ‘alter10 ation’, ‘renovation’, ‘demolition’ and ‘reconstruction’

11 mean all types of work performed by laborers and

12 mechanics which relates to a particular building or

13 work financed in whole or in part by loans, grants,

14 revolving funds or loan guarantees from the United

15 States, or located on land owned by the United

16 States unless exempted or otherwise limited by Fed17 eral law, including without limitation, altering, re18 modeling, painting and decorating, the transporting

19 of materials and supplies to or from the building or

20 work by the employees of the construction contractor

21 or its subcontractors, including independent hauling

22 contractors, and the manufacturing or furnishing of

23 materials, articles, supplies or equipment for the

24 project from facilities dedicated exclusively, or nearly

25 so, to the prosecution of the building or work fi-
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1 nanced in whole or in part by loans, grants, revolv2 ing funds or loan guarantees from the United

3 States, or located on land owned by the United

4 States unless exempted or otherwise limited by

5 Federal law.

6 ‘‘(3) INTERESTED PERSON.—The term ‘inter7 ested person’ means any contractor likely to seek or

8 to work under a contract to which section 2(a) ap9 plies, any association representing such a contractor,

10 any laborer or mechanic likely to be employed or to

11 seek employment under such a contract, or any labor

12 organization which represents such a laborer or

13 mechanic.

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

15 construction necessary to complete a new facility,

16 building or work, or to complete an alteration, re17 pair, renovation, rehabilitation, demolition or recon18 struction (including painting and decorating) of a fa19 cility, building or work, regardless of the number of

20 contracts involved so long as all contracts are related

21 in purpose and time.

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

23 the Secretary of Labor.’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PAYROLL INFORMATION.

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

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

4 (1) in the first sentence, by striking out every5 thing after ‘‘shall’’ the second time it appears and

6 inserting in lieu thereof the following: ‘‘maintain

7 payroll and other basic records relating to the pay8 roll for the work on such buildings or public works,

9 preserve such records for a period of 3 years after

10 the completion of such work, and furnish with re11 spect to employees employed in such work and not

12 later than the 10th day of each month a statement

13 which sets forth the following information for each

14 employee for each payroll period ending during the

15 preceding calendar month: The name, address, social

16 security number, employment classification, number

17 of hours worked daily and during the payroll period,

18 hourly rates of wages paid (including rates of con19 tributions or costs anticipated for bona fide fringe

20 benefits), all deductions made, and actual wages

21 paid.’’; and

22 (2) by adding after the first sentence the follow23 ing: ‘‘If a contractor or subcontractor fails timely to

24 submit the certified payroll reports as required here25 in, the Secretary of the department or the head of

26 the agency which entered into or authorized the
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1 funding of the contract subject to the requirements

2 of this section shall suspend all payments to the con3 tractor or subcontractor. Any interested person may

4 obtain a copy of any statement provided under this

5 section from any department, agency or contracting

6 authority which is required by law, regulation, or the

7 terms of a contract or grant, to maintain a record

8 of such statement notwithstanding section 552(b) of

9 title 5, United States Code.’’.

10 (b) ELECTRONIC REPORTING.—The Secretary of

11 Labor shall undertake a study to determine the feasibility

12 of employers using electronic methods to comply with the

13 reporting requirements under section 2 of the Act of June

14 13, 1934. The Secretary shall report to the Congress not

15 later than one year after the date of the enactment of this

16 Act on actions taken by the Secretary and employers to

17 facilitate electronic reporting of payroll information.

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