301-1 Continued

account construction, except in routine physical maintenance operations as described and defined in the Manual of Uniform Highway Accounting Procedures, adopted in 1958 by the American Association of State Highway Officials. Program approval is interpreted to refer to approval of the program for any phase of the project such as preliminary engineering, rightof-way acquisition or physical construction.

301-2 Use for Maintenance Work: After award of a construction contract by the State, or beginning of force account construction authorized by the division engineer, no convict labor may be used for maintenance or any other purpose at the site or within the limits of any Federal-aid project prior to final acceptance of the work by the State and removal of all free labor therefrom. In the event stage construction operations are involved, convict labor may be used in routine physical maintenance operations in the interim between final acceptance by State of the current stage construction and the award of contract or start of force account work for the next succeeding stage.

301-3 Convict-made Goods: See discussion under subsection 201-2, Noncoverage, above.

CHAPTER 302
PAYMENT OF WAGES

302-1 General: Laborers and mechanics must be paid unconditionally and not less often than once each week the full amounts which are accrued, due and payable at the time of payment. The workman's rate for his straight time hours worked must equal or exceed the rate specified in the contract for the class of work actually performed, or the rate established by the Fair Labor Standards Act, whichever is higher. His hourly rate for hours worked in excess of eight hours in a day or forty hours in a workweek must equal or exceed one and onehalf times: (1) the minimum Federal Fair Labor Standards Act rate, (2) the agreed wage rate, or (3) the rate specified in the contract for the class of work in which he was actually engaged, whichever

302-1 Continued

is greater. To meet this requirement, the contractor

must:

302-1.1 Make weekly payments of wages;

302-1.2

302-1.3

Compute wages for straight-time work at
hourly rates which are not less than: (a) the
Fair Labor Standards Act rate, (b) the agreed
wage rate, and/or (c) those required by the
contract. (Straight-time work is the first
eight hours of work performed in a calendar
day and/or the first forty hours of work per-
formed during the workweek.);

Compute wages for overtime work at a premium
rate which is not less than one and one-half
times the straight-time rate. (Overtime
represents hours worked in excess of eight
hours in a day or forty hours in any workweek.)

302-2.1

302-2.2

Piecework: The piece rate method for compensating laborers and mechanics is proper if, at the time of payment, the resultant weekly earnings, are not less than earnings computed pursuant to the contract specifications.

Payment by Check: Payment to laborers and
mechanics must be in legal tender of the
United States. However, this condition will
be considered satisfied if payment is made
by a negotiable check, on a solvent bank,
which may be cashed readily by the employee in

302-2.2 Continued

the local community for the full amount,
without discount or collection charges of
any kind. Where checks are used for pay-
ment, the contractor shall make all
necessary arrangements for them to be
cashed and shall give information regarding
such arrangement to the employees.

302-2.3 Partial Coverage: In certain instances,
contractors who are engaged in more than
one construction job at the same time may
use the same employees on both projects.
The wage rates applicable to each project
may differ, or the work on the other project
may be of such a nature as to be subject to
none of the labor standards discussed in this
manual (e.g., a non-Federal-aid project,
or work within the contractor's organization
unrelated to the Federal-aid project). In
such circumstances, the employee is entitled,
as a matter of interest to the contracting
officer, to the benefits of the labor
standards provisions of this manual only for
his hours of employment on the Federal-aid
contract. However, in order to assert
partial noncoverage, the contractor must keep
adequate records to establish the periods of
noncovered work performed by the employee.

Instances have occurred in which, as a
condition of their employment on a covered proj-
ect and receipt of the contract minimum wage
rate, laborers and mechanics have been required
to work extra hours during the work week on
non-covered private projects without additional
compensation. The employee's average hourly
wage rate, based upon the total hours worked

1

for the employer, is thereby rendered less
than the contract minimum. The Department of
Labor has held such an arrangement to be in
violation of the contract labor provisions.
Accordingly, any such violations should be
reported to the Chief Counsel for appropriate
action.

303-1

CHAPTER 303
PAYROLL RECORDS

Inspections of Records: Contractors and subcontractors are not required to keep copies of payroll records on the site of the project; however, they are required to make such records available at the job site for inspection by authorized representatives of the Federal Highway Administration and the contracting agency. Inspecting officials should, of course, notify the contractor and/or subcontractors when an inspection of the payroll records is scheduled.

303-2 Retaining Records: Payroll records shall be retained for a period of three years after Federal Highway Administration final payment of the project, and should be made available at the request of the Secretary of Labor or the State Highway Department at any time during such period.

303-3 Form and Content: There is no mandatory prescribed format for contractor's or subcontractor's payroll records, however, all payroll records must contain the following data:

303-3.1 The employee's full name, address, and social security number;

303-3.2 The employee's classification;

303-3.3 Hourly wage rate and, where applicable, overtime hourly rate;

303-3.4

The daily and weekly hours worked in each classification, including actual overtime hours worked (not adjusted);

303-3.5 The itemized deductions made; and

303-3.6

The net wages paid.