[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 51 (Thursday, March 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14768-14769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05586]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Davis-Bacon Certified Payroll

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Wage and Hour 
Division (WHD)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public 
comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before April 19, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
    Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) if the information will be processed and used in a timely 
manner; (3) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (4) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (5) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony May by telephone at 202-693-
4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Davis-Bacon and related Acts (DBRA) 
require the application of Davis-Bacon labor standards to federal and 
federally assisted construction. The Copeland Act (40 U.S.C. 3145) 
requires the Secretary of Labor to prescribe reasonable regulations for 
contractors and subcontractors engaged in construction work subject to 
Davis-Bacon labor standards. While the federal contracting or 
assistance-administering agencies

[[Page 14769]]

have a primary responsibility for enforcement of Davis-Bacon labor 
standards, Reorganization Plan Number 14 of 1950 assigns to the 
Secretary of Labor responsibility for developing government-wide 
policies, interpretations and procedures to be observed by the 
contracting and assisting agencies, in order to assure coordination of 
administration and consistency of DBRA enforcement. The Copeland Act 
provision cited above specifically requires the regulations to 
``include a provision that each contractor and subcontractor each week 
must furnish a statement on the wages paid each employee during the 
prior week.'' This requirement is implemented by 29 CFR 3.3 and 3.4 and 
the standard Davis-Bacon contract clauses set forth at 29 CFR 5.5. 
Regulations 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(A) requires contractors to submit 
weekly a copy of all payrolls to the federal agency contracting for or 
financing the construction project. If the agency is not a party to the 
contract, the contractor will submit the payrolls to the applicant, 
sponsor, or owner, as the case may be, for transmission to the 
contracting agency. This same section requires that the payrolls 
submitted shall set out accurately and completely the information 
required to be maintained under 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(i), except that full 
social security numbers and home addresses shall not be included on 
weekly transmittals, and instead, the payrolls shall only need to 
include an individually identifying number for each employee (e.g., the 
last four digits of the employee's social security number). The 
required weekly payroll information may be submitted in any form 
desired. Optional Form WH- 347 is available for this purpose from the 
Wage and Hour Division website at https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/wh347.pdf. The regulations at 29 CFR 3.3(b) 
require each contractor to furnish weekly a signed ``Statement of 
Compliance'' accompanying the payroll indicating the payrolls are 
correct and complete and that each laborer or mechanic has been paid 
not less than the proper Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage rate for the 
work performed. The weekly submission of a properly executed 
certification, with the prescribed language set forth on page 2 of 
Optional Form WH-347, satisfies the requirement for submission of the 
required ``Statement of Compliance''. Id. at Sec. Sec.  3.3(b), 3.4(b), 
and 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(B). Regulations 29 CFR 3.4(b) and 5.5(a)(3)(i) 
require contractors to maintain these records for three years after 
completion of the work.
    For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the 
related notice published in the Federal Register on August 25, 2020 (85 
FR 52365).
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid 
OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions 
of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to 
comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid 
OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
    DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for 
three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than 
three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information 
collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive 
a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.
    Agency: DOL-MSHA.
    Title of Collection: Davis-Bacon Certified Payroll.
    OMB Control Number: 1235-0008.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits institutions.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 86,898.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 7,994,616.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 7,461,642 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $1,071,368.

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))

    Dated: March 11, 2021.
Anthony May,
Management and Program Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2021-05586 Filed 3-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-27-P