Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Report of Construction Contractor's Wage Rates

ACTION:

Notice of availability; request for comments.

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 the agency receives on or before April 24, 2023.

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:

Mara Blumenthal by telephone at 202-693-8538, or by email at DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Davis-Bacon Act (DBA), requires the payment of minimum prevailing wages determined by the Department of Labor to laborers and mechanics working on federal contracts in excess of $2,000 for the construction, alteration, or repair, including painting and decorating, of public buildings and public works. The DBA delegates to the Secretary of Labor the responsibility to determine the wage rates that are “prevailing” for each classification of covered laborers and mechanics on similar projects “in the civil subdivision of the State in which the work is to be performed.” 40 U.S.C. 3142(b). The Department is responsible for issuing these wage determinations (WDs). The implementing regulations provide that the Administrator of WHD will conduct a continuing program for obtaining and compiling wage rate information for issuing WDs. As a part of this program, the regulation provides that the Administrator will encourage the voluntary submission of wage rate data by contractors, contractors' associations, labor organizations, public officials, and other interested parties, reflecting wage rates paid to laborers and mechanics on various types of construction in the area. See 29 CFR 1.3(a). Form WD-10 is used by the Department to solicit construction project data from contractor associations, contractors, and unions. The wage data is used to determine locally prevailing wages under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. A new pre-survey, WD-10A, requests that general contractors and subcontractors supply a list of their subcontractors to whom WHD may send notification of the survey. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on June 15, 2022 (87 FR 36152).

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. See5 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-WHD.

Title of Collection: Report of Construction Contractor's Wage Rates.

OMB Control Number: 1235-0015.

Affected Public: Private Sector—Businesses or other for-profits.

Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,641.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 21,939.

Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 7,161 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

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