Interviews

Interviews

65) How often should employee interviews in a compliance inspection of an employer be conducted by the contracting agency?

Employee interviews should be conducted at a frequency and number sufficient to establish the degree of adequacy and accuracy of the records, and the nature and extent of any violations. They should also be representative of all classifications of employees on the project under investigation. In doubtful compliance situations, interviews with former employees may be appropriate.

29 CFR 5.6 (a)(3)

66) An employee has been underpaid. W hat steps should be taken to resolve the issue?

The contracting agency may withhold funds sufficient to pay the unpaid employees. Considering the violation is a breach of contract, the contract may be termination, and/or the contractor or subcontractor may be debarred from obtaining any type of federally-funded contract for up to 3 years.

67) Are employee interviews intended to be confidential from the contractor?

Yes, employee interviews are intended to be private from their employer. Each employee should be informed that the information given is confidential, and that his/her identity will not be disclosed to the employer without the employee’s written permission.

PWRB 2013, Investigative Procedures Under DBRA/CWHSSA

68) Do the prevailing wage rate requirements apply to all Recovery Act contracts?

YES. The first sentence of ARRA Section 1606 states in part: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law and in a manner consistent with other provisions of this Act . . . “ This language explicitly overrides any limitation to Davis-Bacon coverage that may be contained in other Davis-Bacon related Acts. Specifically, the Highway Acts exclusion of highways functionally classified as local roads and rural minor collectors and limitation of applicability to projects located within the right-of-way does not apply to Recovery Act projects. For additional information, refer to the ARRA Guidance and the all agency memorandum AAM No. 207 – “Applicability of Davis-Bacon to Federal and federally-assisted construction work funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.”

69) Who is responsible for assuring that the contractor has included the appropriate wage determination(s) is the contract?

The contracting agency is responsible for assuring that the appropriate wage determination is included in the contract.

29 CFR 1.6(b)

70) Who is responsible for compliance with the DBA labor standard provisions in a construction contract?

The prime contractor has overall responsibility for compliance with the DBA labor standard provision in a construction contract.

29 CFR 5.5(a)(6)