---
kind: "section"
citation: "24 C.F.R. § 75.23"
title: "24"
number: "75.23"
heading: "Section 3 safe harbor."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/24/75.23"
---

# §75.23. Section 3 safe harbor.

- (a) **General.** Recipients will be considered to have complied with requirements in this part, in the absence of evidence to the contrary if they:
  - (1) Certify that they have followed the prioritization of effort in [§ 75.19](/cfr/24/75.19.md); and
  - (2) **Meet or exceed the applicable Section 3 benchmark as described in paragraph (b) of this section.**
- (b) **Establishing benchmarks.**
  - (1) HUD will establish [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) benchmarks for [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) workers or Targeted [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) workers or both through a document published in the Federal Register. HUD may establish a single nationwide benchmark for [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) workers and a single nationwide benchmark for Targeted [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) workers, or may establish multiple benchmarks based on geography, the nature of the [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) project, or other variables. HUD will update the benchmarks through a document published in the Federal Register, subject to public comment, not less frequently than once every 3 years. Such notice shall include aggregate data on labor hours and the proportion of recipients meeting benchmarks, as well as other metrics reported pursuant to [§ 75.25](/cfr/24/75.25.md) as deemed appropriate by HUD, for the 3 most recent reporting years.
  - (2) In establishing the [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) benchmarks, HUD may consider the industry averages for labor hours worked by specific categories of workers or in different localities or regions; averages for labor hours worked by [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) workers and Targeted [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) workers as reported by recipients pursuant to this section; and any other factors HUD deems important. In establishing the [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) benchmarks, HUD will exclude professional services from the total number of labor hours as such hours are excluded from the total number of labor hours to be reported per [§ 75.25(a)(4)](/cfr/24/75.25.md?p=a-4).
  - (3) [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) benchmarks will consist of the following two ratios:
    - (i) The number of labor hours worked by [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) workers divided by the total number of labor hours worked by all workers on a [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) project in the recipient's program year.
    - (ii) The number of labor hours worked by Targeted [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) workers as defined in [§ 75.21(a)](/cfr/24/75.21.md?p=a), divided by the total number of labor hours worked by all workers on a [Section 3](/cfr/24/3.md) project in the recipient's program year.

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1701u; 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).

### Source

Source: 85 FR 61562, Sept. 29, 2020, unless otherwise noted.