‘‘(IV) to enforce such determina-
tion to the extent that it is affirmed
or modified.
The decision of the court shall be final except
that it shall be subject to review by the Su-
preme Court of the United States as provided
in section 1254 of title 28, United States Code.
‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT PROCEDURE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any laborer or mechanic
under—
‘‘(A) a contract with the United States or
the District of Columbia, or
‘‘(B) any other contract described in sec-
tion 2(b)(1),
or any interested person may file an administrative
complaint with the Administrator to review the wage
payments to the laborer or mechanic under such
contract to determine if the wage payments have
been made in accordance with section 2(a).
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—
‘‘(A) 
DETERMINATION.—The 
Adminis-
trator shall determine if wage payments have
been made in accordance with section 2(a) with-
in 120 days of the receipt of the administrative
complaint.
‘‘(B) HEARING.—Either the complainant
or the employer involved in the administrative
complaint may, within 15 days of the date of is-
suance of the determination of the Adminis-
trator, request a hearing on the determination
by an administrative law judge. The determina-
tion of the Administrator shall be deemed to be
a final agency action if no request for a hearing
is made within such 15 days.
‘‘(C) REQUEST FOR REFERENCE.—If the
Administrator does not make a determination
on an administrative complaint within 120 days
of its receipt, the complainant may request that
the administrative complaint be referred to the
Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Depart-
ment of Labor for assignment to an Adminis-
trative Law Judge of the Department of Labor
to make the determination requested by the ad-
ministrative complaint.
‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The administrative
law judge—
‘‘(i) to whom a determination of the
Administrator has been referred under a
request for a hearing under paragraph
(2)(B); or
‘‘(ii) to whom an administrative com-
plaint has been referred under a request
for a hearing pursuant to paragraph
(2)(C);
shall within 90 days of a request conduct a
hearing on the record in accordance with sec-
tion 554 of title 5, United States Code, with re-
spect to such administrative complaint or deter-
mination.
‘‘(B) HEARINGS.—In any proceeding be-
fore an administrative law judge, the employer
under the contract reviewed shall have the bur-
den of demonstrating that the wage payments
under the contract were made in accordance
with such section. The administrative law judge
shall have the power to issue orders requiring
the attendance and testimony of witnesses and
the production of evidence under oath. Wit-
nesses shall be paid the same fees and mileage
that are paid witnesses in the courts of the
United States. In the case of contumacy, fail-
ure, or refusal of any person to obey such
order, any District Court of the United States
or of any Territory or possession, within the ju-
risdiction of which the inquiry is carried on, or
within the jurisdiction of which said person who
is guilty of contumacy, failure, or refusal is
found, or resides or transacts business, upon
the application by the Administrator or the
complainant, shall have jurisdiction to issue to
such person an order requiring such person to
appear before him or representative designated
by him, to produce evidence if, as, and when
so ordered, and to give testimony relating to the
matter under investigation or in question; and
any failure to obey such order of the court may
be punished by said court as a contempt there-
of. The administrative law judge shall issue a
decision as to whether wage payments have
been made in accordance with section 2(a) with-
in 30 days after he receives the transcript of
the hearing proceedings.
‘‘(C) REVIEW BY SECRETARY.—Within 30
days of the date of issuance of the decision by
an administrative law judge, the complainant or
the employer involved in the petition may re-
quest the Secretary to review the decision of the
administrative law judge. The decision of the
administrative law judge shall be deemed to be
a final agency action if no request for review is
made within such 30-day period or, within 30
days of the date the decision is made, the Sec-
retary does not grant a request to review the
decision of the administrative law judge.
‘‘(D) GRANTING
OF
REQUEST
TO
RE-
VIEW.—The Secretary may grant a request to
review a decision of an administrative law judge
only if the Secretary determines that the re-
quest presents a substantial question of law or
fact. If the Secretary grants a request for a re-
view, the Secretary, within 90 days after receiv-
ing the request, shall review the record and
either adopt the decision of the administrative
law judge or issue exceptions. The decision of
the administrative law judge, together with any
exceptions, shall be deemed to be a final agency
action.
‘‘(4) WITHHOLDING
OF
SUMS.—Upon deter-
mination by the Administrator pursuant to para-
graph (2), or the administrative law judge pursuant
to paragraph (3), based on a finding that petitioner
is likely to succeed on the merits of his or her claim,
the Secretary of Labor shall direct the Secretary of
the department or the head of the agency, or con-
tracting authority which entered into the contract
subject to the requirements of section 2 to withhold
from any moneys payable on account of work per-
formed by the contractor or subcontractor under
such contract, any other contract described in sec-
tion 2(b)(1), or any other federally-funded or as-
sisted contract the contractor or subcontractor may
have with the same contractor, such sums as may be
determined to be necessary to satisfy any liabilities
of such contractor or subcontractor for unpaid
wages and liquidated damages as provided in para-
graph (5)(A).
‘‘(5) DECISION.—The decision of the Adminis-
trator, an administrative law judge, or the Secretary
on a petition under this subsection for the review of
the wage payments under a contract may include—
‘‘(A) the awarding of damages to the peti-
tioner in the amount of twice the amount of
wages not paid in accordance with section 2(a)
if it is found on review of the petition that the
petitioner was willfully not paid wages in ac-
cordance with such section; and
‘‘(B) in addition to any award to the peti-
tioner, a reasonable attorney’s fee to be paid by
the employer and the cost of the action.
‘‘(6) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall pay di-
rectly to laborers and mechanics from any accrued
payments withheld under the terms of the contract
any wages found by the Secretary of Labor under
this subsection to be due laborers and mechanics
under section 2(a). The Secretary shall distribute a
list to all departments of the Federal Government
giving the names of the person or corporation, or
both, partnership or association the Secretary of
Labor has found under this subsection to have dis-
regarded their obligations to employees and sub-
contractors. No contract shall be awarded to the
persons, corporations, or partnerships or associa-
tions appearing on this list or to any corporation,
partnership, or association in which such persons
have an interest until 3 years (or 5 years in the case
of a second debarment) have elapsed from the date
of publication of the list containing the names of
such persons or corporation, partnership, or associa-
tions.
‘‘(7) RIGHT OF ACTION.—If the accrued pay-
ments withheld under the terms of a contract sub-
ject to section 2(a) are insufficient to reimburse all
the laborers and mechanics with respect to whom
there has been a failure to pay the wages required
by such section, the Secretary shall bring an action
against the contractor and the contractor’s sureties
for the payment of the wages required by such sec-
tion, and in such an action it shall be no defense
that such laborers and mechanics accepted or agreed
to accept less than the required rate of wages or vol-
untarily made refunds.
‘‘(8) TIME.—An action seeking judicial review
of a final agency action under this subsection shall
be brought within 30 days of the date of such ac-
tion.
‘‘(d) CIVIL ACTIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any employer who violates
section 2(a) shall be liable to each laborer or me-
chanic affected in the amount of the laborer or me-
chanic’s unpaid wages and, if the violation was will-
ful, in an additional equal amount as liquidated
damages.
‘‘(2) ACTIONS.—An action to recover the liabil-
ity prescribed by paragraph (1) may be maintained
against any employer in any Federal or State court
of competent jurisdiction by any interested party or
by any one or more laborers or mechanics for and
in behalf of the laborer or mechanic or laborers or
mechanics and other laborers or mechanics similarly
situated. No laborer or mechanic may be a party
plaintiff to any such action unless the laborer or me-
chanic gives the laborer or mechanic’s consent in
writing to become such a party and such consent is
filed in the court in which such action is brought.
No civil action may be brought or maintained under
this paragraph by a laborer or mechanic with respect
to the laborer or mechanic’s wages if a petition is or
has been filed by that laborer or mechanic under
subsection (c) with respect to the laborer or
mechanic’s wages.
‘‘(3) ATTORNEY’S FEE.—The court in an action
brought under paragraph (2) shall, in addition to
any judgment awarded to the plaintiff or plaintiffs,
allow a reasonable attorney’s fee to be paid by the
defendant and the cost of the action.
‘‘SEC. 5. TERMINATIONS.
‘‘Every contract subject to section 2(a), shall contain
a provision that in the event it is found by the contracting
officer or the Administrator that any laborer or mechanic
covered by the contract has been or is being paid a rate
of wages less than the rate of wages required by section
2(a) to be paid under the contract or subcontract, the Gov-
ernment may, by written notice to the contractor, termi-
nate the right of such contractor to proceed with the work
or such part of the work as to which there has been a
failure to pay the required wages and to prosecute the
work to completion by contract or otherwise. The contrac-
tor and its sureties shall be liable to the Government for
any excess costs incurred by the Government because of
the termination of the contract.
‘‘SEC. 6. CONSTRUCTION.
‘‘This Act shall not be construed to supersede or im-
pair any authority otherwise granted by Federal law to
provide for the establishment of specific wage rates.
‘‘SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION OF ACT.
‘‘The Secretary of Labor shall—
‘‘(1) take such action as may be appropriate to
ensure compliance with the requirements of this Act
and to enforce its requirements; and
‘‘(2) promulgate appropriate standards and pro-
cedures to be observed by contracting officers with
respect to contracts to which this Act applies.
An action by the Secretary under section 4 or this section
or by a court under section 4 to enforce the requirements
of this Act with respect to a contract shall require the
application of this Act to the contract from the date of
the contract or the beginning of the work.
‘‘SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘As used in this Act:
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis-
trator’ means the Administrator of the Wage and
Hour Division of the Department of Labor.
‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION, ETC.—The terms ‘con-
struction’, ‘prosecution’, ‘completion’, ‘repair’, ‘alter-
ation’, ‘renovation’, and ‘reconstruction’ mean all
types of work performed by laborers and mechanics
which relates to a particular building or work fi-
nanced in whole or in part by loans, grants, revolv-
ing funds or loan guarantees from the United
States, or located on land owned by the United
States unless exempted or otherwise limited by Fed-
eral law, including without limitation, altering, re-
modeling, painting and decorating, the transporting
of materials and supplies to or from the building or
work by the employees of the construction contractor
or its subcontractors, including independent hauling
contractors, and the manufacturing or furnishing of
materials, articles, supplies or equipment for the
project from facilities dedicated exclusively, or nearly
so, to the prosecution of the building or work fi-
nanced in whole or in part by loans, grants, revolv-
ing funds or loan guarantees from the United
States, or located on land owned by the United
States unless exempted or otherwise limited by
Federal law.
‘‘(3) INTERESTED PERSON.—The term ‘inter-
ested person’ means any contractor likely to seek or
to work under a contract to which section 2(a) ap-
plies, any association representing such a contractor,
any laborer or mechanic likely to be employed or to
seek employment under such a contract, or any labor
organization which represents such a laborer or me-
chanic.
‘‘(4) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means all
construction necessary to complete a new facility,
building or work, or to complete an alteration, re-
pair, renovation, rehabilitation, or reconstruction
(including painting and decorating) of a facility,
building or work, regardless of the number of con-
tracts involved so long as all contracts are related in
purpose and time.
‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
the Secretary of Labor.’’.
SEC. 2. PAYROLL INFORMATION.
(a) AMENDMENTS TO COPELAND ACT.—Section 2 of
the Act of June 13, 1934 (40 U.S.C. 276c) is amended—
(1) in the first sentence, by striking out every-
thing after ‘‘shall’’ the second time it appears and
inserting in lieu thereof the following: ‘‘maintain
payroll and other basic records relating to the pay-
roll for the work on such buildings or public works,
preserve such records for a period of 3 years after
the completion of such work, and furnish with re-
spect to employees employed in such work and not
later than the 10th day of each month a statement
which sets forth the following information for each
employee for each payroll period ending during the
preceding calendar month: The name, address, social
security number, employment classification, number
of hours worked daily and during the payroll period,
hourly rates of wages paid (including rates of con-
tributions or costs anticipated for bona fide fringe
benefits), all deductions made, and actual wages
paid.’’; and
(2) by adding after the first sentence the follow-
ing: ‘‘If a contractor or subcontractor fails timely to
submit the certified payroll reports as required here-
in, the Secretary of the department or the head of
the agency which entered into or authorized the
funding of the contract subject to the requirements
of this section shall suspend all payments to the con-
tractor or subcontractor. Any interested person may
obtain a copy of any statement provided under this
section from any department, agency or contracting
authority which is required by law, regulation, or the
terms of a contract or grant, to maintain a record
of such statement notwithstanding section 552(b) of
title 5, United States Code.’’.
(b) ELECTRONIC REPORTING.—The Secretary of
Labor shall undertake a study to determine the feasibility
of employers using electronic methods to comply with the
reporting requirements under section 2 of the Act of June
13, 1934. The Secretary shall report to the Congress not
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this
Act on actions taken by the Secretary and employers to
facilitate electronic reporting of payroll information.
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HR 967 IH——3