§3144. Authority of Comptroller General to pay wages and list contractors violating contracts

(a) PAYMENT OF WAGES.

(1) IN GENERAL.-The Comptroller General shall pay directly to laborers and mechanics from any accrued payments withheld under the terms of a contract any wages found to be due laborers and mechanics under this subchapter.

(2) RIGHT OF ACTION.-If the accrued payments withheld under the terms of the contract are insufficient to reimburse all the laborers and mechanics who have not been paid the wages required under this subchapter, the laborers and mechanics have the same right to bring a civil action and intervene against the contractor and the contractor's sureties as is conferred by law on persons furnishing labor or materials. In those proceedings it is not a defense that the laborers and mechanics accepted or agreed to accept less than the required rate of wages or voluntarily made refunds.

(b) LIST OF CONTRACTORS VIOLATING CONTRACTS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.-The Comptroller General shall distribute to all departments of the Federal Government a list of the names of persons whom the Comptroller General has found to have disregarded their obligations to employees and subcontractors.

(2) RESTRICTION ON AWARDING CONTRACTS.-No contract shall be awarded to persons appearing on the list or to any firm, corporation, partnership, or association in which the persons have an interest until three years have elapsed from the date of publication of the list.

§ 3145. Regulations governing contractors and subcontractors

(a) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary of Labor shall prescribe reasonable regulations for contractors and subcontractors engaged in constructing, carrying out, completing, or repairing public buildings, public works, or buildings or works that at least partly are financed by a loan or grant from the Federal Government. The regulations shall include a provision that each contractor and subcontractor each week must furnish a statement on the wages paid each employee during the prior week.

(b) APPLICATION.-Section 1001 of title 18 applies to the statements.

§3146. Effect on other federal laws

This subchapter does not supersede or impair any authority otherwise granted by federal law to provide for the establishment of specific wage rates.

§3147. Suspension of this subchapter during a national emergency

The President may suspend the provisions of this subchapter during a national emergency.

§ 3148. Application of this subchapter to certain contracts This subchapter applies to a contract authorized by law that is made without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41

U.S.C. 5), or on a cost-plus-a-fixed-fee basis or otherwise without advertising for proposals, if this subchapter otherwise would apply to the contract.

SUBCHAPTER V-VOLUNTEER SERVICES

§3161. Purpose 4

It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote and provide opportunities for individuals who wish to volunteer their services to state or local governments, public agencies, or nonprofit charitable organizations in the construction, repair, or alteration (including painting and decorating) of public buildings and public works that at least partly are financed with federal financial assistance authorized under certain federal programs and that otherwise might not be possible without the use of volunteers.

§ 3162. Waiver for individuals who perform volunteer services

(a) CRITERIA FOR RECEIVING WAIVER.-The requirement that certain laborers and mechanics be paid in accordance with the wagesetting provisions of subchapter IV of this chapter as set forth in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.), the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) does not apply to an individual

(1) who volunteers to perform a service directly to a state or local government, a public agency, or a public or private nonprofit recipient of federal assistance

(A) for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons;

(B) only for the personal purpose or pleasure of the individual;

(C) without promise, expectation, or receipt of compensation for services rendered, except as provided in subsection (b); and

(D) freely and without pressure or coercion, direct or implied, from any employer;

(2) whose contribution of service is not for the direct or indirect benefit of any contractor otherwise performing or seeking to perform work on the same project for which the individual is volunteering;

(3) who is not employed by and does not provide services to a contractor or subcontractor at any time on the federally assisted or insured project for which the individual is volunteering; and

(4) who otherwise is not employed by the same public agency or recipient of federal assistance to perform the same type of services as those for which the individual proposes to volunteer.

(b) PAYMENTS.

(1) IN ACCORDANCE WITH REGULATIONS.-Volunteers described in subsection (a) who are performing services directly

4 Sections 3161 and 3162 were contained in the Community Improvement Volunteer Act of 1994 (subtitle C of title VII of P.L. 103–355) before being revised, codified, and reenacted without substantive change as such sections by Public Law 107-217.

to a state or local government or public agency may receive payments of expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee only in accordance with regulations the Secretary of Labor prescribes. Volunteers who are performing services directly to a public or private nonprofit entity may not receive those pay

ments.

(2) CRITERIA AND CONTENT OF REGULATIONS.-In prescribing the regulations, the Secretary shall consider criteria such as the total amount of payments made (relating to expenses, benefits, or fees) in the context of the economic realities. The regulations shall include provisions that provide that

(A) a payment for an expense may be received by a volunteer for items such as uniform allowances, protective gear and clothing, reimbursement for approximate out-ofpocket expenses, or the cost or expense of meals and transportation;

(B) a reasonable benefit may include the inclusion of a volunteer in a group insurance plan (such as a liability, health, life, disability, or worker's compensation plan) or pension plan, or the awarding of a length of service award; and

(C) a nominal fee may not be used as a substitute for compensation and may not be connected to productivity. (3) NOMINAL FEE.-The Secretary shall decide what constitutes a nominal fee for purposes of paragraph (2)(C). The decision shall be based on the context of the economic realities of the situation involved.

(c) ECONOMIC REALITY.-In determining whether an expense, benefit, or fee described in subsection (b) may be paid to volunteers in the context of the economic realities of the particular situation, the Secretary may not permit any expense, benefit, or fee that has the effect of undermining labor standards by creating downward pressure on prevailing wages in the local construction industry.

115. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION PILOT PROGRAM 117. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT MATTERS

11501

11701

CHAPTER 111-GENERAL

Sec. 11101.

Definitions.

11102. Sense of Congress.

11103. Applicability to national security systems.

§11101. Definitions

In this subtitle, the following definitions apply:

(1) COMMERCIAL ITEM.-The term "commercial item" has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403).

(2) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.-The term "executive agency" has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the Act (41 U.S.C. 403).

(3) INFORMATION RESOURCES.-The term "information resources" has the meaning given that term in section 3502 of title 44.

(4) INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT.-The term "information resources management" has the meaning given that term in section 3502 of title 44.

(5) INFORMATION SYSTEM.-The term "information system" has the meaning given that term in section 3502 of title 44. (6) INFORMATION term "information

technology"

TECHNOLOGY.-The

(A) with respect to an executive agency means any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, used in the automatic acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information by the executive agency, if the equipment is used by the executive agency directly or is used by a contractor under a contract with the executive agency that requires the use

(i) of that equipment; or

5 Subtitle III was contained in division E of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-106) before being revised, codified, and reenacted without substantive change as such subtitle by Public Law 107-217.