Background and Application. The Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act is codified at 40 USC 3701, et seq. The Act applies to grantee contracts and subcontracts “financed at least in part by loans or grants from … the [Federal] Government.” 40 USC 3701(b)(1)(B)(iii) and (b)(2), 29 CFR 5.2(h), 49 CFR 18.36(i)(6). Although the original Act required its application in any construction contract over $2,000 or non-construction contract to which the Act applied over $2,500 (and language to that effect is still found in 49 CFR 18.36(i)(6)), the Act no longer applies to any “contract in an amount that is not greater than $100,000.” 40 USC 3701(b)(3) (A)(iii). The Act applies to construction contracts and, in very limited circumstances, non-construction projects that employ “laborers or mechanics on a public work.” These non-construction applications do not generally apply to transit procurements because transit procurements (to include rail cars and buses) are deemed “commercial items.” 40 USC 3707, 41 USC 403 (12). A grantee that contemplates entering into a contract to procure a developmental or unique item should consult counsel to determine if the Act applies to that procurement and that additional language required by 29 CFR 5.5(c) must be added to the basic clause below. The clause language is drawn directly from 29 CFR 5.5(b) and any deviation from the model clause below should be coordinated with counsel to ensure the Act’s requirements are satisfied.
Background and Application. The Xxxxx-Xxxxx and Xxxxxxxx Acts are codified at 40 USC 3141, et seq. and 18 USC 874. The Acts apply to grantee construction contracts and subcontracts that “at least partly are financed by a loan or grant from the Federal Government.” 40 USC 3145(a), 29 CFR 5.2(h), 49 CFR 18.36(i)(5). The Acts apply to any construction contract over $2,000. 40 USC 3142(a), 29 CFR 5.5(a). ‘Construction,’ for purposes of the Acts, includes “actual construction, alteration and/or repair, including painting and decorating.” 29 CFR 5.5(a). The requirements of both Acts are incorporated into a single clause (see 29 CFR 3.11) enumerated at 29 CFR 5.5(a) and reproduced below. The clause language is drawn directly from 29 CFR 5.5(a) and any deviation from the model clause below should be coordinated with counsel to ensure the Acts’ requirements are satisfied.
