United States Department of Labor Office of Administrative Law Judges Law
Library
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR *
OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR * CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION
INDEX TO ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS UNDER SECTION
503 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973
TOPIC 195: SUBCONTRACT
NOTICE: THIS INDEX WAS PREPARED BY THE CIVIL RIGHTS
DIVISION, OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, FOR
INTERNAL USE. IT IS NOT AN OFFICIAL INTERPRETATION OF THE CASES,
AND WAS LAST REVISED IN NOVEMBER, 1996.
Employer is a subcontractor under 41 CFR 60-741.2 because the type of service provided by
it is necessary to the performance of the contractor's agreement with the Government, even
though this particular subcontractor's service may not be necessary. OFCCP v.
Monongahela Railroad Co., 85-OFC-2, ALJ Rec. Dec. and Order Granting Plaintiff's
Motion for Summary Judgment, April 2, 1986, slip op. at 4, aff'd, Deputy Under
Secretary for Employment Standards, March 11, 1987.
A subcontractor's services must be necessary to the performance of the contractor's
Government contract but this does not mean that the subcontractor must supply a certain
percentage of the Government contractor's services or supplies. Id. at 5, aff'd,
Deputy Under Secretary for Employment Standards, March 11, 1987.
To allow a contractor to circumvent the provisions of [Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act]
by maintaining a subsidiary supplier would be inconsistent with the Act's intent to assure that the
government uses its spending power so as to improve employment opportunities for qualified
handicapped persons. OFCCP v. Texas Utilities Generating Company,
85-OFC-13, ALJ Rec. Dec., March 2, 1988, slip op. at 3-4; remandedonothergrounds, Assistant Secretary for Employment Standards Decision and Order of Remand,
August 25, 1994; ConsentDecree, April 15, 1996.
The defendant is a covered subcontractor within the meaning of Section 503 because it
supplies electrical power exclusively to three service companies, two of which are government
contractors, and all four are owned by a single entity. OFCCP v. Texas Utilities
Generating Company, 85-OFC-13, ALJ Rec. Dec., March 2, 1988, slip op. at 4;
remandedonothergrounds, Assistant Secretary for Employment
Standards Decision and Order of Remand, August 25, 1994; ConsentDecree,
April 15, 1996.
The Secretary of Labor agreed with OFCCP that the building owner is a subcontractor
because it supplies services necessary to the performance of Defendant's government contracts.
41 CFR § 60-1.4; OFCCP v. Coldwell, Banker and Co., Case No.
78-OFCCP-12, Sec. Dec., August 14, 1987, slip op. At 7-8. Defendant had an obligation to
assure
that its subcontractors complied with the requirements of Section 503, 41 CFR §
60-741.4(f), and by failing to make efforts to obtain handicapped parking spaces Defendant
violated
that obligation. OFCCP v. First Federal Savings Bank of Indiana, 91-OFC-23,
Secretary of Labor, Amended Final Decision and Order, November 20, 1995, at 5.