[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR4.134]

[Page 69-70]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
PART 4--LABOR STANDARDS FOR FEDERAL SERVICE CONTRACTS--Table of Contents
 
   Subpart C--Application of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act
 
Sec. 4.134  Contracts outside the Act's coverage.

    (a) Contracts entered into by agencies other than those of the 
Federal Government or the District of Columbia as described in 
Secs. 4.107-4.108 are not within the purview of the Act. Thus, the Act 
does not cover service contracts entered into with any agencies of 
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or Guam acting in 
behalf of their respective local governments. Similarly, it does not 
cover service contracts entered into by agencies of States or local 
public bodies, not acting as agents for or on behalf of the United 
States or the District of Columbia, even though Federal financial 
assistance may be provided for such contracts under Federal law or the 
terms and conditions specified in Federal law may govern the award and 
operation of the contract.
    (b) Further, as already noted in Secs. 4.111 through 4.113, the Act 
does not apply to Government contracts which do not have as their 
principal purpose the furnishing of services, or which call for no 
services to be furnished within the United States or through the use of 
service employees as those terms are defined in the Act. Clearly outside 
the Act's coverage for these reasons are

[[Page 70]]

such contracts as those for the purchase of tangible products which the 
Government needs (e.g. vehicles, office equipment, and supplies), for 
the logistic support of an air base in a foreign country, or for the 
services of a lawyer to examine the title to land. Similarly, where the 
Government contracts for a lease of building space for Government 
occupancy and the building owner furnishes general janitorial and other 
building services on an incidental basis through the use of service 
employees, the leasing of the space rather than the furnishing of the 
building services is the principal purpose of the contract, and the Act 
does not apply. Another type of contract which is outside the coverage 
of the Act because it is not for the principal purpose of furnishing 
services may be illustrated by a contract for the rental of parking 
space under which the Government agency is simply given a lease or 
license to use the contractor's real property. Such a contract is to be 
distinguished from contracts for the storage of vehicles which are 
delivered into the possession or custody of the contractor, who will 
provide the required services including the parking or retrieval of the 
vehicles.
    (c) There are a number of types of contracts which, while outside 
the Act's coverage in the usual case, may be subject to its provisions 
under the conditions and circumstances of a particular procurement, 
because these may be such as to require a different view of the 
principal purpose of the contract. Thus, the ordinary contract for the 
recapping of tires would have as its principal purpose the manufacture 
and furnishing of rebuilt tires for the Government rather than the 
furnishing of services through the use of service employees, and thus 
would be outside the Act's coverage. Similarly, contracts calling for 
printing, reproduction, and duplicating ordinarily would appear to have 
as their principal purpose the furnishing in quantity of printed, 
reproduced or duplicated written materials rather than the furnishing of 
reproduction services through the use of service employees. However, in 
a particular case, the terms, conditions, and circumstances of the 
procurement may be such that the facts would show its purpose to be 
chiefly the furnishing of services (e.g. repair services, typesetting, 
photocopying, editing, etc.), and where such services require the use of 
service employees the contract would be subject to the Act unless 
excluded therefrom for some other reason.