[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 41, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 41CFR50-201.2]

[Page 9-10]
 
           TITLE 41--PUBLIC CONTRACTS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
 
            CHAPTER 50--PUBLIC CONTRACTS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
 
PART 50-201--GENERAL REGULATIONS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 50-201.2  Administration of the Act.

    (a) The Secretary of Labor is authorized and directed to administer 
the provisions of the Act, to make investigations, findings, and 
decisions thereunder, and to make, amend, and rescind rules and 
regulations with respect to its application (see sections 4 and 5). The 
Supreme Court has recognized that the Secretary may issue rulings 
defining the coverage of the Act. (``Endicott Johnson Corp. v. Perkins, 
supra''.) According to the Court (ibid.), in the statute as originally 
enacted

[[Page 10]]

``Congress submitted the administration of the Act to the judgment of 
the Secretary of Labor, not to the judgment of the courts.'' An 
amendment to the Act in 1952 added specific provisions for judicial 
review (see section 10). The Secretary has promulgated regulations to 
carry out provisions of the Act, which are set forth elsewhere in this 
chapter (Part 50-201 (General Regulations); Part 50-202 (Minimum Wage 
Determinations); Part 50-203 (Rules of Practice); and Part 50-204 
(Safety and Health Standards)). The Secretary of Labor has delegated to 
the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division through the Assistant 
Secretary for Employment Standards the authority to promulgate 
regulations and to issue official rulings and interpretations. So long 
as such regulations, rulings, and interpretations are not modified, 
amended, rescinded, or determined by judicial authority to be incorrect, 
they may be relied upon as provided in section 10 of the Portal-to-
Portal Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 84, 29 U.S.C. 251, et seq., discussed in 29 
CFR part 790). Furthermore, these interpretations are intended to 
indicate the construction of the law which the Department of Labor 
believes to be correct and which will be followed in the administration 
of the Act unless and until directed otherwise by Act of Congress or by 
authoritative rulings of the courts. (``Skidmore v. Swift & Co.'', 323 
U.S. 134 (1944), ``Roland Co. v. Walling'', 326 U.S. 657 (1946); 
``Endicott Johnson Corp. v. Perkins, supra'', and ``Perkins v. Lukens 
Steel Co., supra''.)
    (b) The courts have held that the ``interpretations of the Walsh-
Healey Act and the regulations adopted thereunder, as made by the 
Secretary of Labor acting through his Administrator, are both correct 
and reasonable.'' (``Jno. McCall Coal Company v. United States,'' 374 F. 
2d 689, 692 (C.A. 4, 1967); see also ``United States v. Davison Fuel and 
Dock Company,'' 371 F. 2d 705, 711-714 (C.A. 4, 1967).) These policies 
are designed to protect not only employees but also the competitive 
interest of all firms qualified to compete for covered contracts.

[43 FR 22975, May 30, 1978. Redesignated at 61 FR 40716, Aug. 5, 1996]