at any place he maintains an office or conducts his business, or his residence, or in any manner in which the United States marshal of the district in which the public improvement is situated is authorized by law to serve summons. (b) Every suit instituted under this section shall be brought in the name of the United States for the use of the person suing, in the United States District Court for any district in which the contract was to be performed and executed and not elsewhere, irrespective of the amount in controversy in such suit, but no such suit shall be commenced after the expiration of one year after the day on which the last of the labor was performed or material was supplied by him. The United States shall not be liable for the payment of any costs or expenses of any such suit. (Aug. 24, 1935, ch. 642, § 2, 49 Stat. 794; Aug. 4, 1959, Pub. L. 86-135, § 1, 73 Stat. 279.) AMENDMENTS 1959-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 86-135 substituted "day on which the last of the labor was performed or material was supplied by him" for "date of final settlement of such contract". EFFECTIVE DATE Section 5 of act Aug. 24, 1935, provided that the act "shall take effect upon the expiration of sixty days after the date of its enactment, but shall not apply to any contract awarded pursuant to any invitation for bids issued on or before the date it takes effect, or to any persons or bonds in respect of any such contract.” RETROACTIVE EFFECT Section 3 of Pub. L. 86-135 provided that: "The rights of laborers and material men under contracts entered into before the effective date [Aug. 4, 1959] of this amendment [to subsec. (b) of this section and section 270c of this title] shall not be affected." FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE Parties, see Rule 17, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 270d, 270e, 270f of this title; title 6 section 15; title 39 section 410; title 42 section 1416; title 46 section 1119b; title 50 App. section 1152. § 270c. Same; right of person furnishing labor or material to copy of bond. The Comptroller General is authorized and directed to furnish, to any person making application therefor who submits an affidavit that he has supplied labor or materials for such work and payment therefor has not been made or that he is being sued on any such bond, a certified copy of such bond and the contract for which it was given, which copy shall be prima facie evidence of the contents, execution, and delivery of the original. Applicants shall pay for such certified copies such fees as the Comptroller General fixes to cover the cost of preparation thereof. (Aug. 24, 1935, ch. 642, § 3, 49 Stat. 794; Aug. 4, 1959, Pub. L. 86-135, § 2, 73 Stat. 279.) AMENDMENTS 1959-Pub. L. 86-185 deleted ", and, in case final settlement of such contract, has been made, a certified statement of the date of such settlement, which shall be conclusive as to such date upon the parties" and "and certified statements" following "original" and "certified copies", respectively. EFFECTIVE DATE Section 5 of act Aug. 24, 1935, provided that the act "shall take effect upon the expiration of sixty days after the date of its enactment, but shall not apply to any contract awarded pursuant to any invitation for bids issued on or before the date it takes effect, or to any persons or bonds in respect of any such contract." RETROACTIVE EFFECT Rights of laborers and material men under contracts entered into before Aug. 4, 1959, unaffected, see note under section 270b of this title. FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE Proof of official records, see Rule 44, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. Effect of Rule 44 on this section, see note by Advisory Committee under that rule. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 270d, 270e, 270f of this title; title 6 section 15; title 39 section 410; title 42 section 1416; title 46 section 1119b; title 50 App. section 1152. § 270d. Same; definition of "person". The term "person" and the masculine pronoun as used in sections 270a to 270c of this title shall include all persons whether individuals, associations, copartnerships, or corporations. (Aug. 24, 1935, ch. 642, § 4, 49 Stat. 794.) EFFECTIVE DATE Section 5 of act Aug. 24, 1935, provided that the act "shall take effect upon the expiration of sixty days after the date of its enactment, but shall not apply to any contract awarded pursuant to any invitation for bids issued on or before the date it takes effect, or to any persons or bonds in respect of any such contract." CROSS REFERENCES Definition of "person" as used in any Act of Congress, see section 1 of Title 1, General Provisions. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 270e, 270f of this title; title 6 section 15; title 39 section 410; title 42 section 1416; title 46 section 1119b; title 50 App. section 1152. § 270e. Same; waiver of sections 270a to 270d with respect to Army, Navy, Air Force, or Coast Guard contracts. The Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, or the Secretary of the Treasury may waive sections 270a to 270d of this title with respect to cost-plus-a-fixed fee and other cost-type contracts for the construction, alteration, or repair of any public building or public work of the United States and with respect to contracts for the manufacturing, producing, furnishing, construction, alternation, repair, processing, or assembling of vessels, aircraft, munitions, materiel, or supplies of any kind or nature for the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Coast Guard, respectively, regardless of the terms of such contracts as to payment or title. (Apr. 29, 1941, ch. 81, § 1, 55, Stat. 147; June 3, 1955, ch. 129, 69 Stat. 83.) 75-623 74 pt. 29 CODIFICATION The Secretary of the Air Force was inserted under the authority of section 207 (a), (f) of act July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, 61 Stat. 501. The Department of War was designated the Department of the Army and the title of the Secretary of War was changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205 (a) of such act July 26, 1947. Sections 205 (a) and 207 (a), (f) of act July 26, 1947 were repealed by section 53 of act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 641. Section 1 of act Aug. 10, 1956 enacted "Title 10, Armed Forces", which in sections 3011-3013 and 80118013 continued the military Departments of the Army and Air Force under the administrative supervision of a Secretary of the Army and a Secretary of the Air Force, respectively. AMENDMENTS 1955-Act June 3, 1955, authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to waive requirement of performance and payment bonds in connection with certain Coast Guard contracts, included the Secretary of the Air Force for purposes of clarification, made specific reference to cost-type contracts, and eliminated proviso permitting bonds to be required for contracts which on Apr. 29, 1941, would have been subject to the provisions of esctions 270a-270d of this title. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS The powers and duties of the Secretary of the Treasury relating to the Coast Guard were transferred to the Secretary of Transportation by section 1655 (b) (1) of Title 49, Transportation. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in title 39 section 410. § 207f. Same; waiver of sections 270a to 270d with respect to Commerce contracts. The Secretary of Commerce may waive sections 270a to 270d of this title, with respect to contracts for the construction, alteration, or repair, of vessels of any kind or nature, entered into pursuant to the Act of June 30, 1932 (47 Stat. 382, 417-418), as amended, the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, or the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946, regardless of the terms of such contracts as to payment or title. (Apr. 29, 1941, ch. 81, § 2, as added Oct. 21, 1970, Pub. L. 91-469, § 39, 84 Stat. 1036.) REFERENCE IN TEXT Act of June 30, 1932 (47 Stat. 382, 417-418), as amended, referred to in the text, and known as one of the Economy Acts, is classified in part to sections 686 and 686b of Title 31, Money and Finance. For distribution and status of other provisions of such Act, see Tables Volume. Merchant Marine Act, 1936, referred to in the text, is classified to chapter 27 of Title 46, Shipping. Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946, referred to in the text, is classified to section 1735 et seq. of Appendix to Title 50, War and National Defense. SERVICE CONTRACT ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED 41 U.S.C. 351–358, 79 Stat. 1034 (1965), 86 Stat. 789 (1972), (Section Nos. refer to U.S. Code) Summary and Description The Service Contract Act of 1965 provides labor standards for contracts (and any bid specification therefor) entered into by any agency or instrumentality of the United States or the District of Columbia which have as their principal purpose the furnishing of services in the United States through the use of service employees. Examples of contracts which are principally for services subject to this act include laundry and drycleaning, mail transportation, custodial, janitorial, maintenance and guard services, certain packing and crating services, cafeteria and food service, ambulance services, certain equipment and facility repair and maintenance services, linen supply services, lodging services, support services at military installations, and warehousing or storage services, stenographic reporting, and data processing. The act applies to service contracts, whether oral or written. SERVICES EMPLOYEES Many types of employees may be regarded as service employees under the act, including "guards, watchmen, and any person engaged in a recognized trade or craft, or other skilled mechanical craft, or in unskilled, semiskilled, or skilled manual labor occupations; and any other employee including a foreman or supervisor in a position having trade, craft, or laboring experience as the paramount requirement; and shall include all such persons regardless of any contractual relationship that may be alleged to exist between a contractor or subcontractor and such persons." Employees who qualify for exemption as being employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity in accordance with regulations, 29 CFR Part 541, issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act, are not considered to be service employees under the Service Contract Act. LABOR STANDARDS FOR COVERED CONTRACTS IN EXCESS OF $2,500 Contractors and subcontractors performing work under a Government service contract in excess of $2,500 must observe the following requirements: Minimum wage and fringe benefits A provision must be included in the contract specifying the minimum monetary wages and the fringe benefits to be given to the service employees as determined by the Secretary of Labor to be prevailing for such employees in the community. The Secretary of Labor shall give due consideration to the rates paid corresponding classifications of service employees under the Federal wage board system in arriving at the prevailing wage rates. The obligation of a contractor to furnish any specified fringe benefits may be discharged by furnishing any equivalent combinations of benefits, or by making equivalent, or differential payments in cash. The wage determination for employees who perform work under a covered contract cannot be less than the minimum wage required under section 6(a) (1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. which is $2.00 effective May 1, 1974, $2.10 effective January 1, 1975, and $2.30 an hour effective January 1, 1976. The same wage applies in the absence of a wage determination. Safe and healthful working conditions Contractors and subcontractors are obligated to assure that no part of the services covered by the act will be performed in buildings or surroundings or under working conditions, provided by or under the control or supervision of the contractor or any subcontractor, which are unsanitary or hazardous or dangerous to the health or safety of service employees. Minimum wage for covered contracts under $2,500 No wage or fringe benefit determinations are issued for contracts of $2,500 or less, nor are these contracts subject to the safety and health requirements of the Act. The minimum monetary rate specified in section 6(a) (1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act is applicable to employees engaged in the performance of such a contract. Labor standards for other employees of a service contractor Under section 6(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, other employees of contractor whose rate of pay is not governed by either the Service Contract Act or by section 6(a) (1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act must be paid a minimum wage of not less than $1.90 an hour, beginning May 1, 1974; $2.00 an hour, beginning January 1, 1975; $2.20 an hour, beginning January 1, 1976; and $2.30 an hour after December 31, 1976. Overtime pay standards Although the Service Contract Act does not contain overtime standards, payment of time and one-half for all hours in excess of 40 in a workweek may be required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Also, if the contract is in excess of $2,500, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act generally applies. The latter act requires time and one-half for all hours worked in the contract in excess of 40 in the workweek or 8 in any calendar day, whichever number of overtime hours is greater. Notice to employees In contracts in excess of $2,500, the contractor or subcontractor must provide a service employee, when he commences work on a contract subject to the act, with a notice of the compensation required by the act or shall post such notice in a location where it may be seen by |