DECISION AND ORDER OF REMAND
This matter is before the Administrative Review Board on the petition of the Administrator,
Wage and Hour Division (Administrator) seeking review of the May 5, 1995 Decision and Order
(D.
and O.) issued by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The ALJ denied the Administrator's
motion
to withdraw from a stipulation relating to the distance between certain batch plants and the
permanent
[Page 2]
construction work. The ALJ then relied on the stipulation to find that the work was performed at
a
location too remote from the permanent construction to be deemed on the "site of the work" and
therefore dismissed the claim against the Respondents.
For the reasons set forth below, the ALJ's D. and O. is reversed and the matter is remanded
for a decision consistent with this order.
I. BACKGROUND
This case is a dispute over whether the wage standards of the Davis-Bacon Act, as amended
(DBA), 40 U.S. C. § 276a et seq., apply to work performed at certain batch plants
constructed and operated in connection with construction work on the Central Arizona Project
(CAP).
The CAP is a massive Bureau of Reclamation construction project consisting of 330 miles of
aqueduct
and pumping plants running from Lake Havasu in northwestern Arizona to Tucson in south
central
Arizona. Respondents Rodgers Construction (Rodgers), Bechtel Constructors Corporation
(Bechtel),
and Ball, Ball & Brosamer, Inc. (Ball) were prime contractors on the CAP. Rodgers was the
winning
bidder on the contract to construct the Picacho Pumping Plant. Bechtel was awarded the
contracts to
build the Brady Pumping Plant and the Red Rock Pumping Plant. Ball was responsible for
building
the aqueduct connecting the pumping plants. The four contracts were awarded on various dates
between May 1984 and September 1985 and construction on each commenced soon after award.
Each
contract was expressly subject to the specifications and requirements of the DBA, supra,
the
contract overtime requirements of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, as
amended
(CWHSSA), 40 U.S.C.§ 327 et seq., the Department of Labor regulations (29
C.F.R.
Part 5), and the prevailing wage rate classifications and hourly rates specified by the Department
of
Labor (DOL) through wage determinations.
Each of the prime contractors contracted with Respondent Tanner Companies (Tanner) to
provide the concrete necessary for the performance of its contract. In order to perform
satisfactorily
on these contracts Tanner found it necessary to construct a temporary batch plant proximate to
each
of the pumping stations under construction. The Bureau of Reclamation's specifications for the
concrete was essentially the same for each of the contracts. Roughly ninety-nine percent of the
concrete produced was used in connection with this project, and specifically with these four CAP
contracts. Each of the batch plant's dedicated the largest share of its output to the construction of
the
pumping station to which it was proximate. Each of the plants also provided a significant
amount of
its production to Ball for the construction of the aqueduct between the pumping stations. The
Picacho
batch plant also provided concrete to the Red Rock Pumping Station.
According to the testimony given before the ALJ, the Brady batch plant was somewhere
between five hundred feet to one half mile from the actual permanent location of the Brady
Pumping
station. Concrete from the Brady batch plant was also delivered to various sites along the
aqueduct
ranging in distance from one thousand feet to fifteen miles from the plant.
[Page 3]
At the Picacho site the batch plant was located from three hundred feet to one-half mile
from
the permanent location of the pumping station. The Picacho batch plant was located between
twelve
to fifteen miles from the Red Rock station to which it also supplied concrete. Deliveries to sites
along
the aqueduct from the Picacho batch plant ranged from one half to fifteen miles. The Red Rock
batch
plant was located between one quarter and three quarters of a mile from the permanent location
of the
Red Rock pumping station. Concrete was delivered to Ball for aqueduct construction from the
Red
Rock batch plant up to a distance of fifteen miles from the batch plant.
Photographic evidence of the Red Rock and Picacho construction sites show that both
batch
plants were located on land cleared by the contractors for the purpose of facilitating construction
of
the pumping stations. These batch plants are located amid other work and
equipment storage areas dedicated to the construction project. These batch plants are, at a
minimum, adjacent to the actual pumping stations and the associated aqueduct. No photographic
evidence was introduced with respect to the Brady pumping station.
Sometime during 1985, following a complaint by a Tanner employee, the Administrator
initiated an investigation into whether Tanner was operating in compliance with the DBA.
Specifically, the investigation was aimed at determining whether the workers employed by
Tanner at
the temporary batch plants were employed on the "site of the work" and consequently covered by
the
DBA. As a result of that investigation, the Acting Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division
issued a charging letter to Tanner and each of the prime contractors, asserting various violations
of
the DBA and CWHSSA in the operation of the temporary batch plants. In response to the
charging
letter, Tanner requested a hearing on this matter. By Order of Reference dated September 28,
1990,
the Acting Administrator forwarded that request to the Chief Administrative Law Judge to
schedule
a hearing.
Accordingly, a three day hearing commencing on October 18, 1993 was held. Prior to
hearing the parties entered into a number of stipulations including the following:
These three batch plants were located from one-half to fifteen miles from the
physical places where the construction called for in these contracts remained when the
work was completed.
Parties' Joint Exhibit 1.
At the close of the hearing, the ALJ requested and received briefs from the Administrator
and
Tanner. While the matter was still pending before the ALJ, the District of Columbia Circuit
Court of
Appeals issued its decision in Ball, Ball & Brosamer, Inc. v. Reich, 24 F.3d 1447 (D.C.
Cir.
1994). Because of the relevance of that case to the pending proceeding, the ALJ directed the
parties
to file briefs addressing the Ball, Ball & Brosamer case. Id.
[Page 4]
In response to a request by the Administrator, by order of February 13, 1995, the ALJ
permitted the Administrator to file a motion to withdraw from the above quoted portion of the
written
stipulations entered in this case. By Decision and Order of May 5, 1995, the ALJ ruled adversely
to
the Administrator's motion and rendered a decision in this matter. The Administrator then filed a
petition for review with the Wage Appeals Board, the responsibilities of which have since been
transferred to this Board.
II. PROCEDURAL ISSUE
Tanner argues that the Administrator has unlawfully relied upon Wage Appeals Board
(WAB)
decisions that have not been indexed and appropriately made available pursuant to the Freedom
of
Information Act (FOIA). 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(2). The Administrator responds by noting that
"since at least 1984, the Department of Labor has notified the public, through the "Guide to
Freedom
of Information Indexes," published in the Federal Register, of the availability of an index
and
digest for Wage Appeals Board decisions." Reply of the Administrator, October 5, 1995, at 2.
The full
text of WAB decisions is also available through a "computer bulletin" board previously provided
by
the WAB and now supported by this Board. Further, while the prior decisions of the WAB have
been
cited by the Administrator in presenting this case and by us in deciding the case, those decisions
only
serve to highlight the department's regulation 29 C.F.R. § 5.2(l)(1), that is the basis for the
reversal of the ALJ's decision in this matter. Tanner's argument that this case should be
dismissed for
violation of the FOIA is without merit.
III. DISCUSSION
Two issues present themselves at this time for review by the Board. The first issue is
whether
the ALJ erred in denying the Administrator's request to withdraw from the stipulation regarding
the
distances between the three temporary batch plants and the construction called for in these
contracts.
The second issue is whether the ALJ properly applied the holding of Ball, Ball, &
Brosamer to the facts of this case.
For the reasons more fully discussed below, the Board concludes that the ALJ erred in
failing
to permit the Administrator to withdraw from the stipulation in question. The Board then finds
that
the ALJ compounded this error by relying on the stipulation in concluding that the temporary
batch
plants were so removed from the actual construction work as not to be included in the "site of the
work." In reaching this decision the ALJ went beyond the D.C. Circuit's decision in Ball, Ball
and
Brosamer and rendered a decision inconsistent with the statute and the relevant regulations.
The
Board finds that, notwithstanding the stipulation, the record clearly supports a finding that the
temporary batch plants were located at the "site of the work." Nevertheless, to avoid any
potential
unfairness to the Respondents that may have been caused by reliance on the stipulation, this issue
will
be remanded to the ALJ for consideration of any additional evidence that may be offered on this
point.
[Page 5]
A. Stipulation
As a general rule, the trier of fact is given broad discretion to permit a party to withdraw
from a stipulation. Morrison v. Genuine Parts Company, 828 F.2d 708, 709 (11th Cir.
1987).
The trier of fact is to exercise this discretion where the enforcement of a stipulation would result
in
manifest injustice or where substantial evidence adduced at trial casts serious doubt on the
accuracy
of the stipulation. Smith v. Blackburn, 549 F.2d 545, 549 (5th Cir. 1986). Finally, in
deciding procedural issues, such as whether to permit a party to withdraw from a stipulation, the
trier
of fact should be reversed only upon a finding of an abuse of discretion. See, Lui
Landscaping, WAB Case No. 94-05, May 20, 1994, slip op. at 3; Killeen Electric
Company, WAB Case No. 87-49, March 21, 1991, slip op. at 4. However, the trier of fact
has an
independent duty to examine the record to ascertain the accuracy of a stipulation. Smith
v.
Blackburn, supra, at 549. This obligation is particularly pronounced in matters, such as
the
instant one, in which the rights of individuals not parties to the proceedings are being
adjudicated.
The danger of manifest injustice is heightened where the individuals whose rights are being
decided
have not assented to the stipulation of a critical fact.
In the present case, the Board finds it particularly difficult to compel the Administrator to
adhere to a critical stipulation known to be false. The stipulation states that the batch plants were
located between one-half and fifteen miles from the site of the actual construction. The portion
of the
stipulation regarding the outer limits (fifteen miles) of the distance between the batch plants and
the
site of construction is in accordance with the evidence introduced at the hearing. The portion of
the
stipulation that is clearly false, based upon the testimony at the hearing and the photographic
evidence,
is the statement that the nearest point between any batch plants and any site of construction was
one-half mile.
The Respondents, in their own pleadings, have shown the minimum of one-half mile
estimate to be false. In its statement opposing the petition for review, Tanner recites evidence
that
is clearly at odds with the stipulation. At page 9 of that statement, Tanner states that "estimates
as
to the distance from the Brady plant to the Brady Pumping Plant construction site ranged from
five
hundred feet to one-half mile." At page 10, Tanner states that "estimates as to the distance
between
the Picacho plant and Picacho Pumping Plant construction ranged from three hundred feet to
one-half mile." With respect to the Red Rock Plant at page 11, Tanner states that "this batch
plant was
from one-quarter to three-quarters of a mile from Bechtel's Red Rock Pumping Plant
construction
site." Each of these statements suggests a shorter distance to a place of permanent construction
than that to which the parties stipulated. These statements, combined with the photographic
evidence and testimony introduced at the hearing, show the minimum one-half mile stipulation to
be false.
Stipulations are critical to the efficient use of adjudicatory resources. The Board wants to
take every appropriate step to encourage stipulations between litigants. The Board recognizes
that
precedent lightly setting aside a stipulation could severely undercut the important judicial values
[Page 6]
generated by the proper use of stipulations. On the other hand, never allowing a party to
withdraw
a previously agreed upon stipulation could also have a deleterious effect on the use of
stipulations.
As the Federal District Court noted in Sam Galloway Ford v. Universal Underwriters
Ins., 793 F.Supp. 1079 (M.D. Fla. 1992):
One way for courts to encourage parties to stipulate is for courts to readily set
aside stipulations when parties discover that the stipulations are erroneous. This
willingness on the part of courts to set aside stipulations encourages parties to stipulate
since the parties feel more confident that courts will set aside the stipulations if there is a
reasonable basis to do so.
793 F.Supp. at 1082.
Our decision to allow Petitioner to withdraw from the stipulation is made easier in light of
the
Circuits Court's decision in Ball. The Ball decision, which was rendered after the hearing in this
matter, increased the relevance of distance in determining whether work was performed "on site"
for
the purposes of the DBA. Prior to the D.C. Circuit Court's decision in Ball any batch
plant
within fifteen miles of the work site was close enough to meet the geographic proximity test of
the
regulations. In fact, the Board had previously held with regard to this very same project that "2
to 15"
miles was close enough to meet the geographic proximity test of the regulation. See Ball,
Ball
and Brosamer, WAB Case No. 90-18, November 29, 1990, slip op. at 13.
The stipulation entered into in this case contained what amounted to boilerplate language
regarding the distances between the batch plants and the site of construction. The actual distance
between the batch plant and the site of construction, prior to Ball, was not a concern to
the
extent that it was 15 miles or less. The actual distance became paramount, after the stipulation
was
entered into, when the Ball decision limited the geographic proximity test to where the batch
plant is
directly on the site of the work, or where the batch plant was "in actual or virtual adjacency to the
construction site." Ball, Ball & Brosamer, id. at 1452.
Where there has been a change in the law it is generally recognized that a court may relieve
a party from a stipulation. In Brast v. Winding Gulf Colliery Co., 94 F.2d 179 (4th Cir.
1938),
the court addressed this issue by noting that "where a stipulation is entered into under a mistake
of law
induced by the then existing state of the case law, a taxpayer is entitled to be relieved of the
effect of
that stipulation if no prejudice results." Id . at 182. Similarly in this matter the
Administrator
entered into a stipulation unable to appreciate the effect that a subsequent change in the
case
law would give to the stipulation. The Board sees no prejudice that would result if the
Administrator
is relieved of this stipulation and the matter is resolved on the basis of more precise and complete
findings of fact. We find that the ALJ abused his discretion in refusing, the Administrator's
request
to be relieved from the burden of the stipulation as it related to the distance between the batch
plants
and the sites of work.
[Page 7]
B. Site of the work
The D.C. Circuit's recent decision in Ball unfortunately has created a good deal of
confusion with respect to the coverage of the DBA. Some have read the decision to mean that
the
statutory phrase "directly upon the site of the work" limits the wage standards of the DBA to the
physical space defined by contours of the permanent structures that will remain at the close of
work.
At close reading it is clear that Ball does not suggest, let alone demand, such a narrow reading of
the
protections of the statute. See, Cavett Co. v. United States Dept of Labor, 892
F.Supp. 973 (S.D. Ohio 1995). The Circuit Court held in Ball only that the Secretary
was
enforcing Section 5.2(l)(2) of the regulations in a manner that did not respect the geographic
limiting
principle of the statute. The court found that the Secretary had gone beyond the plain meaning of
the
statute to include within the reach of the statute work performed at locations too remote from the
place
of permanent construction. The Circuit Court specifically declined to rule on the validity of the
definition of the "site of the work" set out at 29 C.F.R. § 5.2(l)(1).
The Board holds that the language of § 5.2(l)(1) sufficiently resolves this matter. It
is
instructive to note what the Circuit Court said regarding § 5.2(l)(1):
The Secretary maintains that the regulations at § 5.2(l)(2) satisfy the
geographic limiting principle of the Davis-Bacon Act and Midway. This might be
the
case if the Secretary were applying the regulatory phrase "so located in proximity to the
actual
construction location that it would be reasonable to include them" only to cover batch
plants and
gravel pits located in actual or virtual adjacency to the construction site. See 29
C.F.R.
§ 5.2(l)(1). But such an application is not before us and we express no opinion on its
validity.
Ball, supra at 1452.
The facts of this case, as developed to this point, clearly suggest that the work performed at
the
temporary batch plants satisfy the test set out in Section 5.2(l)(1). Aerial photographs of the Red
Rock
and Picacho sites place the temporary batch plants on land integrated into the work area adjacent
to
the pumping plants. Workers at the batch plants were employed on the sites of work equally as
much
as the workers who cleared the land and the workers who inventoried, assembled, transported or
operated tools, equipment or materials on nearby or adjacent property. Unless the Board were
also
to exclude these workers, and in doing so largely nullify the wage protections of the DBA, there
is no
principled basis for excluding the batch plant workers.
Tanner might concede that the batch plants were located proximate to the pumping stations,
but
argue that concrete from the batch plant was also transported and used on aqueduct construction
miles
from the plant. This argument is unpersuasive in that it is the nature of such construction,
e.g.
highway, airport and aqueduct construction, that the work may be long, narrow and stretch over
many
miles. Where to locate a storage area or a batch plant along such a project is a matter of the
[Page 8]
contractor's convenience and is not a basis for excluding, the work from the DBA. The map of
the
project introduced at hearing by Tanner, RX 22, abundantly illustrates that the project consisted
of
miles of narrow aqueduct connected by pumping stations. The only feasible way to meet the
needs
of the aqueduct construction was to have the concrete prepared at a convenient site and
transported
to the precise area of need. This equally holds true for the storage and distribution of other
materials
and equipment. Faced with such a project, the Board finds that work performed in actual or
virtual
adjacency to one portion of the long continuous project is to be considered adjacent to the entire
project. See, L.P. Cavett Co. v. United States Dep't of Labor, supra at 979-980.
Alternatively, Tanner argues that insofar as it supplied concrete to more than one contractor
on the project, its temporary batch plants were not dedicated exclusively to one contract and
therefore
did not satisfy the functional test which the regulations and our predecessor, the Wage Appeal
Board,
applied in determining whether work was performed on site. United Construction Company,
Inc.,
WAB Case No. 82-10, January 14, 1983. First, the applicable section of the regulations,
Section
5.2(l)(1) does not explicitly contain a functional test. Secondly, to the extent that a functional
test is
read into Section 5.2(l)(1), the Board refuses to draw an artificial distinction between one portion
of
the project that is let under one contract and another portion of the same project that is let under a
separate contract.[2] Any other interpretation would free
contracting agencies to circumvent the statute by purposely dividing work on one project into
separate
contracts. To the extent that 29 C.F.R. § 5.2(l)(1) incorporates a functional test, we deem
it
satisfied under the facts of this case.
For the foregoing reasons, the Administrator's petition for review is granted and it is hereby
Ordered , that the ALJ's order denying the Administrator's motion to withdraw
from
the stipulation is reversed and this matter is remanded for the ALJ to take additional evidence the
parties may wish to enter relevant to the distances between the batch plants and the sites of the
work,
and to thereafter render a new decision and order consistent with the DBA, the pertinent
regulations,
and this Decision and Order.
SO ORDERED.
DAVID A. O'BRIEN
Chair
KARL J. SANDSTROM
Member
JOYCE D. MILLER
Alternate Member
[ENDNOTES]
[1] On April 17, 1996, the Secretary redelegated
jurisdiction to issue final agency decisions
inter alia, the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and their implementing regulations to the
newly
created Administrative Review Board (the Board). Secretary's Order 2-96 (Apr. 17, 1996), 61
Fed.
Reg. 19978, May 3, 1996 (copy attached).
Secretary's Order 2-96 contains a comprehensive list of the statutes, executive order, and
regulations under which the Board now issues final agency decisions. A copy of the final
procedural
revisions to the regulations, 61 Fed. Reg. 19982, implementing this reorganization is also
attached.
The Secretary's earlier decision and the entire record in this case have been reviewed by the
Board.
On April 17, 1996, the Secretary redelegated jurisdiction to issue final agency decisions
inter
alia, the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and their implementing regulations to the newly
created
Administrative Review Board (the Board). Secretary's Order 2-96 (Apr. 17, 1996), 61 Fed. Reg.
19978, May 3, 1996 (copy attached).
Secretary's Order 2-96 contains a comprehensive list of the statutes, executive order, and
regulations under which the Board now issues final agency decisions. A copy of the final
procedural
revisions to the regulations, 61 Fed. Reg. 19982, implementing this reorganization is also
attached.
The Secretary's earlier decision and the entire record in this case have been reviewed by the
Board.
[2] The functional test set out in Section 5.2(l)(2)
requires examination of whether facilities are "dedicated exclusively, or nearly so, to
performance
of the contract or project . . . ." Emphasis added. Application of this test to these
contracts
-- which were all part of a single project -- demonstrates that the batch plants were functionally
part
of the "site of the work."