Notice2022-14663
Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Information Collections: Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts Regulations
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 11, 2022
Issuing agencies
Labor DepartmentWage and Hour Division
Abstract
The Department of Labor (Department) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension of the information collection request (ICR) titled, "Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts Regulations." This comment request is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The Department proposes to extend its information collection without change to existing requirements. This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. A copy of the proposed information request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this Notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 131 (Monday, July 11, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 131 (Monday, July 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41146-41148]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14663]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Wage and Hour Division
Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request;
Information Collections: Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts
Regulations
AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (Department) is soliciting comments
concerning a proposed extension of the information collection request
(ICR) titled, ``Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts
Regulations.'' This comment request is part of continuing Departmental
efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The Department proposes to extend
its information collection without change to existing requirements.
This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the
desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is
minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the
impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly
assessed. A copy of the proposed information request can be obtained by
contacting the office listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this Notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section below on or before September 9, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Control Number 1235-
0007 by either one of the following methods: Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1b4c535f4b495a587476767e756f685b7f7477357c746d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="27706f6377756664484a4a424953546743484b09404851">[email protected]</span></a>; Mail, Hand Delivery, Courier: Division of
Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and Hour, U.S.
Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20210.
Instructions: Please submit one copy of your comments by only one
method. All submissions received must include the agency name and
Control Number identified above for this information collection.
Because we continue to experience delays in receiving mail in the
Washington, DC area, commenters are strongly encouraged to transmit
their comments electronically via email or to submit them by mail
early. Comments, including any personal information provided, become a
matter of public record. They will also be summarized and/or included
in the request for Office
[[Page 41147]]
of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the information collection
request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy DeBisschop, Division of
Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and Hour Division,
U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-0406 (this is not a toll-
free number). Alternative formats are available upon request by calling
1-866-487-9243. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech
disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay
services.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administers the
McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA or Act), 41 U.S.C. 351 et
seq. The SCA applies to every contract entered into by the United
States or the District of Columbia, the principal purpose of which is
to furnish services to the United States through the use of service
employees. The SCA requires contractors and subcontractors performing
services on covered federal or District of Columbia contracts in excess
of $2,500 to pay service employees in various classes no less than the
monetary wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the
locality, or the rates (including prospective increases) contained in a
predecessor contractor's collective bargaining agreement. Safety and
health standards also apply to such contracts. WHD enforces the
compensation requirements of the SCA.
A. Vacation Benefit Seniority List
Section 2(a) of the SCA provides that every contract subject to the
Act must contain a provision specifying the minimum monetary wages and
fringe benefits to be paid to the various classes of service employees
performing work on the contract. Many wage determinations issued for
recurring services performed at the same federal facility provide for
certain vested fringe benefits (e.g., vacations), which are based on
the employee's total length of service with a contractor or any
predecessor contractor. See 29 CFR 4.162. When found to prevail, such
fringe benefits are incorporated in wage determinations and are usually
stated as ``one-week paid vacation after one year's service with a
contractor or successor, two weeks after two years,'' etc. These
provisions ensure that employees receive the vacation benefit payments
that they have earned and accrued by requiring that such payments be
made by successor contractors who hire the same employees who have
worked over the years at the same facility in the same locality for
predecessor contractors.
B. Conformance Record
Section 2(a) of the SCA provides that every contract subject to the
Act must contain a provision specifying the minimum monetary wage and
fringe benefits to be paid the various classes of service employees
employed on the contract work. See 41 U.S.C. 351, et seq. Problems
sometimes arise (1) when employees are working on service contracts in
job classifications that the Department was not previously informed
about and (2) when there are job classifications for which no wage data
are available.
Section 4.6(b)(2) of 29 CFR part 4 provides a process for
``conforming'' (i.e., adding) classifications and wage rates to the
wage determinations for classes of service employees not previously
listed on a wage determination but where employees are actually working
on an SCA covered contract. This process ensures that the requirements
of section 2(a) of the Act are fulfilled and that a formal record
exists as part of the contract which documents the wage rate and fringe
benefits to be paid for a conformed classification while a service
employee(s) is employed on the contract.
The contracting officer is required to review each contractor-
proposed conformance to determine if the unlisted classes have been
properly classified by the contractor so as to provide a reasonable
relationship (i.e., appropriate level of skill comparison) between such
unlisted classifications and the classifications (and wages) listed in
the wage determination. See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2). Moreover, the contracting
agency is required to forward the conformance action to WHD for review
and approval. Id.
C. Indexing
In any case where a contract succeeds a contract under which a
class was previously conformed, the contractor may use an optional
procedure known as indexing (i.e., adjusting) to determine a new wage
rate for a previously conformed class. See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2)(iv)(B).
This procedure does not require the Department's approval, but it
requires the contractor to notify the contracting agency in writing
that a previously conformed class has been indexed and to include
information describing how the new rate was computed. Id.
D. Submission of Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
Sections 2(a) and 4(c) of the SCA provide that any contractor that
succeeds a contract subject to the Act and under which substantially
the same services are furnished shall pay any service workers employed
on the contract no less than the wages and fringe benefits to which
such workers would have been entitled if employed under the predecessor
contract. See 29 CFR 4.163(a).
29 CFR 4.6(l)(1) requires a predecessor contractor to provide to
the contracting officer a copy of any CBA governing the wages and
fringe benefits paid service employees performing work on the contract
during the contract period. The contracting agency submits these CBAs
to WHD where they are used in issuing wage determinations for successor
contracts subject to sections 2(a) and 4(c) of the SCA. See 29 CFR
4.4(c).
WHD uses this information to determine whether covered employers
have complied with various legal requirements of the laws administered
by the agency. The Department seeks approval to extend this information
collection related to labor standards for federal service contracts.
II. Review Focus
The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments
which:
<bullet> Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
<bullet> Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected;
<bullet> Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; or
<bullet> Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submissions of responses.
III. Current Actions
The Department of Labor seeks an approval for the extension of this
information collection that requires
[[Page 41148]]
employers to make, maintain, and preserve records in accordance with
statutory and regulatory requirements.
Type of Review: Extension.
Agency: Wage and Hour Division.
Title: Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts Regulations.
OMB Control Number: 1235-0007.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, Not-for-profit
institutions.
Total Respondents: 137,394.
Total Annual Responses: 137,394.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 136,462.
Estimated Time per Response: Vacation Benefit Seniority List: 1
hour. Conformance Record: 30 minutes. Conformance Indexing: 2 hours.
Collective Bargaining Agreement: 5 minutes.
Frequency: On occasion.
Total Burden Cost (Capital/Startup): $0.
Total Burden Costs (Operation/Maintenance): $0.
Dated: July 1, 2022.
Amy DeBisschop,
Director, Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation.
[FR Doc. 2022-14663 Filed 7-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-27-P
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