[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: 29CFR5.6]

[Page 117-118]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
PART 5--LABOR STANDARDS PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO CONTRACTS COVERING FEDERALLY FINANCED AND ASSISTED CONSTRUCTION (ALSO LABOR STANDARDS PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO 
 
    Subpart A--Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Provisions and Procedures
 
Sec. 5.6  Enforcement.

    (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

[[Page 118]]

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.