Trial Examiner, shall have the power to call, examine, and cross-examine witnesses and to introduce into the record documentary or other evidence.

(f) Any party to the proceeding shall have the right to appear at such hearing in person, by counsel, or otherwise, to call, examine, and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce into the record documentary or other evidence.

(g) In any such proceedings, the rules of evidence prevailing in courts of law or equity shall not be controlling. However, it shall be the policy to exclude irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence.

(h) In any such proceedings, in the discretion of the Trial Examiner, stipulations of fact may be made with respect to any issue.

(i) Any objection with respect to the conduct of the hearing, including any objection to the introduction of evidence, shall be stated orally, together with a short statement of the grounds for such objection, and included in the stenographic report of the hearing. No such objection shall be deemed waived by further participation in the proceeding.

(j) Unless the Trial Examiner otherwise directs, any party to the proceeding shall be entitled to a reasonable period at the close of the hearing for oral argument, which shall not be included in the stenographic report of the hearing unless the Examiner directs.

(k) In the discretion of the Trial Examiner, the hearing may be continued from day to day, or adjourned to a later date, or to a different place, by announcement thereof at the hearing by the Trial Examiner, or by other appropriate notice.

(1) Contemptuous conduct at any hearing before a Trial Examiner shall be ground for exclusion from the hearing. The failure or refusal of a witness to appear at any such hearing or to answer any question which has been ruled to be proper shall be ground for the action provided in section 5 of the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act of June 30, 1936 (sec. 5, 49 Stat. 2039; 41 U. S. C. 39), and in the discretion of the Trial Examiner may be ground for the striking out of all testimony which may have been previously given by such witness on related matters.

(m) The Secretary of Labor may, in his discretion, direct that, in lieu of the

procedure set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, the hearing on formal complaint shall be held in the first instance before the Administrator, in which event the Administrator shall issue an order embodying his decision.

§ 203.9 Briefs. (a) Any interested person or organization shall be entitled to file with the Trial Examiner, Department of Labor, Washington, D. C., briefs, proposed findings of fact or conclusions of law, or other written statements, within the time allowed by the Trial Examiner.

(b) Any brief or written statement shall be stated in concise terms.

(c) Three copies of all such documents shall be filed.

(d) Briefs or written statements of more than twenty pages shall be properly indexed.

§ 203.10 Decision of the Trial Examiner. (a) Following the hearing and upon completion of the record, the Trial Examiner shall issue an order and decision embodying his findings of fact and conclusions of law on all issues as to whether respondent has violated the representations and stipulations of the act and the amount of damages due therefor, which shall become final, unless a petition for review is filed under § 203.11, before the expiration of the time provided for the filing of such petition. The decision of the Trial Examiner shall be inoperative unless and until it becomes final. If the respondent is found to have violated the act, the Trial Examiner in his decision shall make recommendations to the Secretary of Labor as to whether respondent should be relieved from the application of the ineligible list provisions of section 3 of the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act of June 30, 1936 (sec. 3, 49 Stat. 2037; 41 U. S. C. 37).

(b) The decision of the Trial Examiner shall be made part of the record, and a copy thereof shall be served upon the respondent or respondents by mailing a copy thereof by registered mail to the respondent or respondents or to the attorney or attorneys of record. Upon request from employees or other interested persons, the decision will be served upon such persons, and in the discretion of the Trial Examiner, the decision will be served upon such other persons or their attorneys who appeared at the hearing or upon brief by mailing a copy thereof to such persons.

§ 203.11 Review. (a) Within twenty (20) days after service of the decision of the Trial Examiner any interested party, including the trial attorney for the Government, upon whom such decision has been served, may file with the Chief Trial Examiner an original and four copies of a petition for review of the decision by the Administrator which shall set out separately and particularly each error asserted. The request for review and the record will then be certified to the Administrator.

(b) The petitioner may file a brief (original and four copies) in support of his petition within the period allowed for the filing of the petition. Any interested person upon whom the decision has been served may file within ten (10) days after the expiration of the period within which the petition is required to be filed a brief in support of or in opposition to the Trial Examiner's decision.

(c) The petition and the briefs filed under this section shall make specific reference to the pages of the transcript or of the exhibits which are relevant to the errors asserted with respect to findings of fact, and objections to such findings which are not so supported will not be considered.

(d) No matter properly subject to objection before the Trial Examiner will be considered by the Administrator unless it shall have been raised before the Trial Examiner or unless there were reasonable grounds for failure so to do; nor will any matter be considered by the Administrator unless included in the assignment of errors. In the discretion of the Administrator review may be denied if the petition and brief in support thereof fail to show adequate cause for such review.

(e) The order denying review, or the decision of the Administrator, whichever is entered, will be made a part of the record, and a copy of such order or decision will be served upon the parties who were served with a copy of the Trial Examiner's decision.

(f) If the respondent is found to have violated the act, the Administrator in his decision shall make recommendations to the Secretary of Labor as to whether respondent shall be relieved from the application of the ineligible-list provisions of section 3 of the Walsh-Healey Contracts Act (sec. 4, 49 Stat. 2039; 41 U. S. C. 37).

(g) Application for relief from the ineligible-list provisions of section 3 shall be filed by the respondent with the Secretary of Labor within twenty days from the date of service of the Trial Examiner's decision or the Administrator's decision, as the case may be.

(h) Notice of the determination of the Secretary on the application of the ineligible-list provisions of section 3 of the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (sec. 3, 49 Stat. 2037; 41 U. S. C. 37) shall be served upon the parties who were served with a copy of the Trial Examiner's decision or the Administrator's decision as the case may be.

§ 203.12 Effective date. Section 203.1 to 203.11 shall become effective upon publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER (Dec. 18, 1946): Provided, however, That in any case where a hearing has begun or has been completed prior to said publication, the proceeding shall be conducted pursuant to the rules of practice in effect at the time the proceeding was initiated unless the parties stipulate in writing or orally for the record that the proceeding be conducted in accordance with §§ 203.1 to 203.12.

SUBPART B-EXCEPTIONS AND EXEMPTIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 6 OF THE WALSHHEALEY PUBLIC CONTRACTS ACT

SOURCE: §§ 203.13 and 203.14 appear at 12 F. R. 446.

§ 203.13 Requests for exceptions and exemptions. (a) Request for the exception or exemption of a contract or class of contracts from the inclusion or application of one or more of those stipulations required by § 201.1 of this chapter must be made by the head of a contracting agency or department and shall be accompanied with a finding by him setting forth reasons why such inclusion or application will seriously impair the conduct of Government business.

(b) Request for the exception or exemption of a stipulation respecting minimum rates of pay and maximum hours of labor contained in an existing contract must be made jointly by the head of a contracting agency and the contractor and shall be accompanied with a joint finding by them setting forth reasons why such exception or exemption is desired.

(c) All requests for exceptions and exemptions shall be transmitted to the Public Contracts Division of the Department of Labor.

Sec.

210.0 General enforcement policy. 210.1

Coverage under the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act of truck drivers employed by oil dealers.

§ 210.0 General enforcement policy. (a) In order to clarify at this time the practices and policies which will guide the administration and enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (52 Stat. 1060, as amended, 29 U. S. C. 201219), and the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (49 Stat. 2036, as amended; 41 U. S. C. 35-45), as affected by the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 (Pub. Law 49, 80th Cong.), the following policy is announced effective June 30, 1947:

(b) The investigation, inspection and enforcement activities of all officers and agencies of the Department of Labor as they relate to the Fair Labor Standards Act (52 Stat. 1060, as amended, 29 U. S. C. 201-219) and the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act of June 30, 1936 (49 Stat. 2036, as amended; 41 U. S. C. 35-45), will be carried out on the basis that all employers in all industries whose activities are subject to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (52 Stat. 1060, as

amended; 29 U. S. C. 201-219) or the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (49 Stat. 2036, as amended; 41 U. S. C. 35-45) are responsible for strict compliance with the provisions thereof and the regulations issued pursuant thereto.

(c) Any statements, orders, or instructions inconsistent herewith are rescinded. (Sec. 4, 49 Stat. 2038; 41 U. S. C. 38) [12 F. R. 3916]

NOTE: The text of § 210.0 General enforcement policy is identical to that of § 775.0 under 29 CFR Chapter V.

§ 210.1 Coverage under the WalshHealey Public Contracts Act of truck drivers employed by oil dealers. (a) The Division of Public Contracts returns to the interpretation contained in Rulings and Interpretations No. 21 with respect to coverage under the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act of truck drivers employed by oil dealers, by amending section 40 (e) (1) of Rulings and Interpretations No. 31 to read as follows:

(1) Where the contractor is a dealer, the act applies to employees at the central distributing plant, including warehousemen, compounders, and chemists testing the lot out of which the Government order is filled, the crews engaged in loading the materials in vessels, tank cars or tank wagons for shipment, and truck drivers engaged in the activities described in section 37 (m) above. However, the contractor is not required to show that the employees at the bulk stations, including truck drivers, are employed in accordance with the standards of the act. (Bulk stations as the term is used herein are intermediate points of storage between a central distributing plant and service stations.)

(Sec. 4, 49 Stat. 2038; 41 U. S. C. 38) [12 F. R. 2477]

1 Not filled with Division of the Federal Register.

2 Refers to Rulings and Interpretations No. 3.

Part

301 Purchases of blind-made products. 302 Procedures.

Part 301-Purchases of BlindMade Products

Sec. 301.1

301.2

301.3

301.4

301.5

301.6

301.7

301.8

301.9 301.10

Definitions.

National Industries for the Blind designated.

Bureau of Federal Supply to co-
ordinate.

Schedule of blind-made products.
Products made by Federal Prison In-
dustries, Inc.
Allocation procedure.
Clearances.

Purchase procedure.

Agencies for the blind; restrictions.
Reports.

AUTHORITY: §§ 301.1 to 301.10 issued under sec. 2, 52 Stat. 1196; 41 U. S. C. 47.

SOURCE: 301.1 to 301.10 appear at 10 F. R. 5807, except as noted following sections affected. Redesignated at 11 F. R. 1438.

§ 301.1 Definitions. As used in this part:

(a) "Blind" means a person having visual acuity not to exceed 20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses; or visual acuity greater than 20/200 but with a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.

(b) "Non-profit-making agency for the blind" (hereinafter referred to as "agency for the blind") means any organization operated in the interest of the blind, the net income of which does not inure in whole or in part to the benefit of any shareholder or individual as estab

lished by affidavits filed with the National Industries for the Blind.

(c) "Ordering office" means any executive department, independent establishment, board, commission, bureau, service, or division of the United States, and any corporation, all the stock of which is beneficially owned by the United States.

§ 301.2 National Industries for the Blind designated. The National Industries for the Blind (hereinafter referred to as "National Industries") is designated as the agency to facilitate the distribution of orders among the agencies for the blind. National Industries shall maintain a record of all non-profit-making agencies for the blind organized under the laws of the United States or of any State, and statistical data showing their respective quantity production of the commodities specified in the schedule of blind-made products available for sale to ordering offices, so that orders may be equitably distributed among agencies for the blind.

§ 301.3 Bureau of Federal Supply to coordinate. The Bureau of Federal Supply, Treasury Department, is designated to coordinate purchases by ordering offices of the blind-made commodities specified by the Committee on Purchases of Blind-made Products (hereinafter referred to as the "Committee”).

§ 301.4 Schedule of blind-made products. The Committee will issue to ordering offices, through the Bureau of Federal

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