Proposed Extension of the Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts Information Collection, 26657-26659 [2013-10800]

Agencies

• Wage and Hour Division
• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26657-26659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10800]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Wage and Hour Division

RIN 1235-0007


Proposed Extension of the Labor Standards for Federal Service 
Contracts Information Collection

AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance 
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA95). 44 U.S.C. 3056(c)(2)(A). This

[[Page 26658]]

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. Currently, the Wage and Hour Division is soliciting comments 
concerning its proposal to extend Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval of the Information Collection: Labor Standards for Federal 
Service Contracts--Regulations 29 CFR, Part 4. 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 July 8, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Control Number 1235-
0007, by either one of the following methods: Email: 
WHDPRAComments@dol.gov; 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 OMB approval of the information collection 
request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Ziegler, Director, Division of 
Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and Hour, 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). Copies of this notice may be obtained in alternative 
formats (Large Print, Braille, Audio Tape, or Disc), upon request, by 
calling (202) 693-0023 (not a toll-free number). TTY/TTD callers may 
dial toll-free (877) 889-5627 to obtain information or request 
materials in alternative formats.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor 
administers the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), 41 U.S.C. 
351 et seq. The McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (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 
to furnish 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. The compensation requirements 
of the SCA are enforced by the Wage and Hour Division.

A. Vacation Benefit Seniority List

    Service Contract Act section 2(a), 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 (WDs) 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 WDs 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 DOL 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 WD 
for classes of service employees not previously listed on a WD 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 WD. See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2). Moreover, the contracting agency is 
required to forward the conformance action to the Wage and Hour 
Division for review and approval. Id. However, 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 the 
indexing (i.e., adjusting) procedure 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 DOL approval but does require the contractor to notify 
the contracting agency in writing that a previously conformed class has 
been indexed and include information describing how the new rate was 
computed. Id.

C. Submission of Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)

    Sections 2(a) and 4(c) of the SCA provide that any contractor which 
succeeds to 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).
    Section 4.6(l)(1) of Regulations, 29 CFR part 4, requires an 
incumbent (predecessor) contractor to provide to the contracting 
officer a copy of any CBA governing the wages and fringe benefits paid 
service employees

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performing work on the contract during the contract period. These CBAs 
are submitted by the contracting agency to the Wage and Hour Division 
of the Department of Labor where they are used in issuing WDs for 
successor contracts subject to section 2(a) and 4(c) of SCA. See 29 CFR 
4.4(c).
    The Wage and Hour Division uses this information to determine 
whether covered employers have complied with various legal requirements 
of the laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division. The Wage and 
Hour Division seeks approval to renew this information collection 
related to the Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts.

II. Review Focus

    The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments 
which:
     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;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
     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;
     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 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 29 
CFR, Part 4.
    OMB Number: 1235-0007.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, Not-for-profit 
institutions, Farms.
    Total Respondents: 49,344.
    Total Annual Responses: 49,344.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 49,060.
    Estimated Time per Response: Vacation Benefit Seniority List--1 
hour, Conformance Record--30 minutes, Collective Bargaining Agreement--
5 minutes.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Costs (operation/maintenance): $0.

    Dated: April 30, 2013.
Mary Ziegler,
Director, Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation.
[FR Doc. 2013-10800 Filed 5-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-27-P