H. R. 2068—91
written notice to the contractor may terminate the contractor’s
right to proceed with the work or the part of the work as to
which there has been a failure to pay the required wages. The
Government may have the work completed, by contract or otherwise,
and the contractor and the contractor’s sureties shall be liable
to the Government for any excess costs the Government incurs.
§ 3144. Authority of Comptroller General to pay wages and
list contractors violating contracts
(a) PAYMENT OF WAGES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General shall pay directly
to laborers and mechanics from any accrued payments withheld
under the terms of a contract any wages found to be due
laborers and mechanics under this subchapter.
(2) RIGHT
OF
ACTION.—If the accrued payments withheld
under the terms of the contract are insufficient to reimburse
all the laborers and mechanics who have not been paid the
wages required under this subchapter, the laborers and
mechanics have the same right to bring a civil action and
intervene against the contractor and the contractor’s sureties
as is conferred by law on persons furnishing labor or materials.
In those proceedings it is not a defense that the laborers and
mechanics accepted or agreed to accept less than the required
rate of wages or voluntarily made refunds.
(b) LIST OF CONTRACTORS VIOLATING CONTRACTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General shall distribute
to all departments of the Federal Government a list of the
names of persons whom the Comptroller General has found
to have disregarded their obligations to employees and sub-
contractors.
(2) RESTRICTION ON AWARDING CONTRACTS.—No contract shall
be awarded to persons appearing on the list or to any firm,
corporation, partnership, or association in which the persons
have an interest until three years have elapsed from the date
of publication of the list.
§ 3145. Regulations governing contractors and subcontrac-
tors
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall prescribe reason-
able regulations for contractors and subcontractors engaged in con-
structing, carrying out, completing, or repairing public buildings,
public works, or buildings or works that at least partly are financed
by a loan or grant from the Federal Government. The regulations
shall include a provision that each contractor and subcontractor
each week must furnish a statement on the wages paid each
employee during the prior week.
(b) APPLICATION.—Section 1001 of title 18 applies to the state-
ments.
§ 3146. Effect on other federal laws
This subchapter does not supersede or impair any authority other-
wise granted by federal law to provide for the establishment of
specific wage rates.
H. R. 2068—92
§ 3147. Suspension of this subchapter during a national
emergency
The President may suspend the provisions of this subchapter
during a national emergency.
§ 3148. Application of this subchapter to certain contracts
This subchapter applies to a contract authorized by law that
is made without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes
(41 U.S.C. 5), or on a cost-plus-a-fixed-fee basis or otherwise without
advertising for proposals, if this subchapter otherwise would apply
to the contract.
SUBCHAPTER V—VOLUNTEER SERVICES
§ 3161. Purpose
It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote and provide
opportunities for individuals who wish to volunteer their services
to state or local governments, public agencies, or nonprofit chari-
table organizations in the construction, repair, or alteration
(including painting and decorating) of public buildings and public
works that at least partly are financed with federal financial assist-
ance authorized under certain federal programs and that otherwise
might not be possible without the use of volunteers.
§ 3162. Waiver for individuals who perform volunteer serv-
ices
(a) CRITERIA FOR RECEIVING WAIVER.—The requirement that cer-
tain laborers and mechanics be paid in accordance with the wage-
setting provisions of subchapter IV of this chapter as set forth
in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.), the Indian Health Care Improvement Act
(25 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and the Housing and Community Develop-
ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) does not apply to an
individual—
(1) who volunteers to perform a service directly to a state
or local government, a public agency, or a public or private
nonprofit recipient of federal assistance—
(A) for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons;
(B) only for the personal purpose or pleasure of the
individual;
(C) without promise, expectation, or receipt of compensa-
tion for services rendered, except as provided in subsection
(b); and
(D) freely and without pressure or coercion, direct or
implied, from any employer;
(2) whose contribution of service is not for the direct or
indirect benefit of any contractor otherwise performing or
seeking to perform work on the same project for which the
individual is volunteering;
(3) who is not employed by and does not provide services
to a contractor or subcontractor at any time on the federally
assisted or insured project for which the individual is volun-
teering; and
(4) who otherwise is not employed by the same public agency
or recipient of federal assistance to perform the same type
of services as those for which the individual proposes to volun-
teer.
H. R. 2068—93
(b) PAYMENTS.—
(1) IN ACCORDANCE WITH REGULATIONS.—Volunteers described
in subsection (a) who are performing services directly to a
state or local government or public agency may receive pay-
ments of expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee only
in accordance with regulations the Secretary of Labor pre-
scribes. Volunteers who are performing services directly to a
public or private nonprofit entity may not receive those pay-
ments.
(2) CRITERIA AND CONTENT OF REGULATIONS.—In prescribing
the regulations, the Secretary shall consider criteria such as
the total amount of payments made (relating to expenses, bene-
fits, or fees) in the context of the economic realities. The regula-
tions shall include provisions that provide that—
(A) a payment for an expense may be received by a
volunteer for items such as uniform allowances, protective
gear and clothing, reimbursement for approximate out-of-
pocket expenses, or the cost or expense of meals and
transportation;
(B) a reasonable benefit may include the inclusion of
a volunteer in a group insurance plan (such as a liability,
health, life, disability, or worker’s compensation plan) or
pension plan, or the awarding of a length of service award;
and
(C) a nominal fee may not be used as a substitute for
compensation and may not be connected to productivity.
(3) NOMINAL
FEE.—The Secretary shall decide what con-
stitutes a nominal fee for purposes of paragraph (2)(C). The
decision shall be based on the context of the economic realities
of the situation involved.
(c) ECONOMIC REALITY.—In determining whether an expense, ben-
efit, or fee described in subsection (b) may be paid to volunteers
in the context of the economic realities of the particular situation,
the Secretary may not permit any expense, benefit, or fee that
has the effect of undermining labor standards by creating downward
pressure on prevailing wages in the local construction industry.
SUBCHAPTER VI—MISCELLANEOUS
§ 3171. Contract authority when appropriation is for less
than full amount
Unless specifically directed otherwise, the Administrator of Gen-
eral Services may make a contract within the full limit of the
cost fixed by Congress for the acquisition of land for sites, or
for the enlargement of sites, for public buildings, or for the erection,
remodeling, extension, alteration, and repairs of public buildings,
even though an appropriation is made for only part of the amount
necessary to carry out legislation authorizing that purpose.
§ 3172. Extension of state workers’ compensation laws to
buildings, works, and property of the Federal
Government
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF EXTENSION.—The state authority charged
with enforcing and requiring compliance with the state workers’
compensation laws and with the orders, decisions, and awards
of the authority may apply the laws to all land and premises
in the State which the Federal Government owns or holds by
H. R. 2068—94
deed or act of cession, and to all projects, buildings, constructions,
improvements, and property in the State and belonging to the
Government, in the same way and to the same extent as if the
premises were under the exclusive jurisdiction of the State in which
the land, premises, projects, buildings, constructions, improvements,
or property are located.
(b) LIMITATION ON RELINQUISHING JURISDICTION.—The Govern-
ment under this section does not relinquish its jurisdiction for
any other purpose.
(c) NONAPPLICATION.—This section does not modify or amend
subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5.
§ 3173. Working capital fund for blueprinting, photostating,
and duplicating services in General Services
Administration
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—There is a working capital
fund for the payment of salaries and other expenses necessary
to the operation of a central blue-printing, photostating, and dupli-
cating service.
(b) COMPONENTS.—The fund consists of—
(1) $50,000 without fiscal year limitation; and
(2) reimbursements from available amounts of constituents
of the Administrator of General Services, or of any other federal
agency for which services are performed, at rates to be deter-
mined by the Administrator on the basis of estimated or actual
charges for personal services, material, equipment (including
maintenance, repair, and depreciation on existing and new
equipment) and other expenses, to ensure continuous operation.
(c) DEPOSIT OF EXCESS AMOUNTS IN THE TREASURY.—At the close
of each fiscal year any excess amount resulting from operation
of the service, after adequately providing for the replacement of
mechanical and other equipment and for accrued annual leave
of employees engaged in this work by the establishment of reserves
for those purposes, shall be deposited in the Treasury as miscella-
neous receipts.
§ 3174. Operation of public utility communications services
serving governmental activities
The Administrator of General Services may provide and operate
public utility communications services serving any governmental
activity when the services are economical and in the interest of
the Federal Government. This section does not apply to communica-
tions systems for handling messages of a confidential or secret
nature, the operation of cryptographic equipment or transmission
of secret, security, or coded messages, or buildings operated or
occupied by the United States Postal Service, except on request
of the department or agency concerned.
§ 3175. Acceptance of gifts of property
The Administrator of General Services, and the United States
Postal Service where that office is concerned, may accept on behalf
of the Federal Government unconditional gifts of property in aid
of any project or function within their respective jurisdictions.