(a) General. Fringe benefits required under the Act shall be
furnished, separate from and in addition to the specified monetary
wages, by the contractor or subcontractor to the employees engaged in
performance of the contract, as specified in the determination of the
Secretary or his authorized representative and prescribed in the
contract documents. Section 2(a)(2) of the Act provides that the
obligation to furnish the specified benefits ``may be discharged by
furnishing any equivalent combinations of fringe benefits or by making
equivalent or differential payments in cash under rules and regulations
established by the Secretary.'' The governing rules and regulations for
furnishing such equivalents are set forth in Sec. 4.177 of this subpart.
An employer cannot offset an amount of monetary wages paid in excess of
the wages required under the determination in order to satisfy his
fringe benefit obligations under the Act, and must keep appropriate
records separately showing amounts paid for wages and amounts paid for
fringe benefits.
(b) Meeting the requirement, in general. The various fringe benefits
listed in the Act and in Sec. 4.162(a) are illustrative of those which
may be found to be prevailing for service employees in a particular
locality. The benefits which an employer will be required to furnish
employees performing on a particular contract will be specified in the
contract documents. A contractor may dispose of certain of the fringe
benefit obligations which may be required by an applicable fringe
benefit determination, such as pension, retirement, or health insurance,
by irrevocably paying the specified contributions for fringe benefits to
an independent trustee or other third person pursuant to an existing
``bona fide'' fund, plan, or program on behalf of employees engaged in
work subject to the Act's provisions. Where such a plan or fund does not
exist, a contractor must discharge his obligation relating to fringe
benefits by furnishing either an equivalent combination of ``bona fide''
fringe benefits or by making equivalent payments in cash to the
employee, in accordance with the regulations in Sec. 4.177.
