(a)(1) It shall be the responsibility of the Federal agency to
ascertain whether the clauses required by Sec. 5.5 have
been inserted in the contracts subject to the labor standards provisions
of the Acts contained in Sec. 5.1. Agencies which do not directly enter
into such contracts shall promulgate the necessary regulations or
procedures to require the recipient of the Federal assistance to insert
in its contracts the provisions of Sec. 5.5. No payment, advance, grant,
loan, or guarantee of funds shall be approved by the Federal agency
unless the agency insures that the clauses required by Sec. 5.5 and the
appropriate wage determination of the Secretary of Labor are contained
in such contracts. Furthermore, no payment, advance, grant, loan, or
guarantee of funds shall be approved by the Federal agency after the
beginning of construction unless there is on file with the agency a
certification by the contractor that the contractor and its
subcontractors have complied with the provisions of Sec. 5.5 or unless
there is on file with the agency a certification by the contractor that
there is a substantial dispute with respect to the required provisions.
(2) Payrolls and Statements of Compliance submitted pursuant to
Sec. 5.5(a)(3)(ii) shall be preserved by the Federal agency for a period
of 3 years from the date of completion of the contract and shall be
produced at the request of the Department of Labor at any time during
the 3-year period.
(3) The Federal agency shall cause such investigations to be made as
may be necessary to assure compliance with the labor standards clauses
required by Sec. 5.5 and the applicable statutes listed in Sec. 5.1.
Investigations shall be made of all contracts with such frequency as may
be necessary to assure compliance. Such investigations shall include
interviews with employees, which shall be taken in confidence, and
examinations of payroll data and evidence of registration and
certification with respect to apprenticeship and training plans. In
making such examinations, particular care shall be taken to determine
the correctness of classifications and to determine whether there is a
disproportionate employment of laborers and of apprentices or trainees
registered in approved programs. Such investigations shall also include
evidence of fringe benefit plans and payments thereunder. Complaints of
alleged violations shall be given priority.
(4) In accordance with normal operating procedures, the contracting
agency may be furnished various investigatory material from the
investigation files of the Department of Labor. None of the material,
other than computations of back wages and liquidated damages and the
summary of back wages due, may be disclosed in any manner to anyone
other than Federal officials charged with administering the contract or
program providing Federal assistance to the contract, without requesting
the permission and views of the Department of Labor.
(5) It is the policy of the Department of Labor to protect the
identity of its confidential sources and to prevent an unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy. Accordingly, the identity of an employee
who makes a written or oral statement as a complaint or in the course of
an investigation, as well as portions of the statement which would
reveal the employee's identity, shall not be disclosed in any manner to
anyone other than Federal officials without the prior consent of the
employee. Disclosure of employee statements shall be governed by the
provisions of the ``Freedom of Information Act'' (5 U.S.C. 552, see 29
CFR part 70) and the ``Privacy Act of 1974'' (5 U.S.C. 552a).
(b) The Administrator shall cause to be made such investigations as
deemed necessary, in order to obtain compliance with the labor standards
provisions of the applicable statutes listed in Sec. 5.1, or to affirm
or reject the recommendations by the Agency Head with respect to labor
standards matters arising under the statutes listed in Sec. 5.1. Federal
agencies, contractors, subcontractors, sponsors, applicants, or owners
shall cooperate with any authorized representative of the Department of
Labor in the inspection of records, in interviews with workers, and in
all other aspects of the investigations. The findings of such an
investigation, including amounts found due, may not be altered or
reduced without the approval of the Department of Labor. Where the
underpayments disclosed by such an investigation total $1,000 or more,
where there is reason to believe that the violations
are aggravated or willful (or, in the case of the Davis-Bacon Act, that
the contractor has disregarded its obligations to employees and
subcontractors), or where liquidated damages may be assessed under the
Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, the Department of Labor
will furnish the Federal agency an enforcement report detailing the
labor standards violations disclosed by the investigation and any action
taken by the contractor to correct the violative practices, including
any payment of back wages. In other circumstances, the Federal agency
will be furnished a letter of notification summarizing the findings of
the investigation.
