81 FR 15131 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Proposed Extension of the Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts-Regulations Information Collection

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Wage and Hour Division

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 54 (March 21, 2016)

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 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.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 54 (Monday, March 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15131-15133]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06308]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Wage and Hour Division


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Proposed Extension of the Labor Standards for Federal Service 
Contracts-Regulations Information Collection

AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 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

[[Page 15132]]

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 May 20, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Control Number 1235-
0007, by either one of the following methods: Email: 
[email protected]; 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: Bob Waterman, Senior Compliance 
Specialist, 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 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.

[[Page 15133]]

    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 Estimated Respondents: 76,027.
    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 76,027.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 76,213.
    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: March 14, 2016.
Mary Ziegler,
Assistant Administrator for Policy
[FR Doc. 2016-06308 Filed 3-18-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-27-P