§4.170. Furnishing fringe benefits or equivalents. — Inbound Citations

(b) Under this provision, the fringe benefits, if any, which the contractor or subcontractor is required to furnish the service employees engaged in the performance of the contract are specified in the contract documents (see § 4.6). How the contractor may satisfy this obligation is dealt with in §§ 4.170 through 4.177 of this part. A change in the fringe benefits required by the contract provision will not result from the mere fact that other or additional fringe benefits are determined to be prevailing for such employees in the locality at a time subsequent to the award but before completion of the contract. Such fringe benefit determinations are effective for contracts not yet awarded (see § 4.5(a)), or in the event that changes in an existing contract requiring their insertion for prospective application have occurred (see §§ 4.143 through 4.145). However, none of the provisions of this paragraph may be construed as altering a successor contractor's obligations under section 4(c) of the Act. (See § 4.163.)

(j) Wage determinations which are issued for successor contracts subject to section 4(c) are intended to accurately reflect the rates and fringe benefits set forth in the predecessor's collective bargaining agreement. However, failure to include in the wage determination any job classification, wage rate, or fringe benefit encompassed in the collective bargaining agreement does not relieve the successor contractor of the statutory requirement to comply at a minimum with the terms of the collective bargaining agreement insofar as wages and fringe benefits are concerned. Since the successor's obligations are governed by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, any interpretation of the wage and fringe benefit provisions of the collective bargaining agreement where its provisions are unclear must be based on the intent of the parties to the collective bargaining agreement, provided that such interpretation is not violative of law. Therefore, some of the principles discussed in §§ 4.170 through 4.177 regarding specific interpretations of the fringe benefit provisions of prevailing wage determinations may not be applicable to wage determinations issued pursuant to section 4(c). As provided in section 2(a)(2), a contractor may satisfy its fringe benefit obligations under any wage determination “by furnishing any equivalent combinations of fringe benefits or by making equivalent or differential payments in cash” in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth in § 4.177 of this subpart.

The wage payment requirements under the Act for monetary wages specified under its provisions will be satisfied by the timely payment of such wages to the employee either in cash or negotiable instrument payable at par. Such payment must be made finally and unconditionally and “free and clear.” Scrip, tokens, credit cards, “dope checks”, coupons, salvage material, and similar devices which permit the employer to retain and prevent the employee from acquiring control of money due for the work until some time after the pay day for the period in which it was earned, are not proper mediums of payment under the Act. If, as is permissible, they are used as a convenient device for measuring earnings or allowable deductions during a single pay period, the employee cannot be charged with the loss or destruction of any of them and the employer may not, because the employee has not actually redeemed them, credit itself with any which remain outstanding on the pay day in determining whether it has met the requirements of the Act. The employer may not include the cost of fringe benefits or equivalents furnished as required under section 2(a)(2) of the Act, as a credit toward the monetary wages it is required to pay under section 2(a)(1) or 2(b) of the Act (see § 4.170). However, the employer may generally include, as a part of the applicable minimum wage which it is required to pay under the Act, the reasonable cost or fair value, as determined by the Administrator, of furnishing an employee with “board, lodging, or other facilities,” as defined in part 531 of this title, in situations where such facilities are customarily furnished to employees, for the convenience of the employees, not primarily for the benefit of the employer, and the employees' acceptance of them is voluntary and uncoerced. (See also § 4.163(k).) The determination of reasonable cost or fair value will be in accordance with the Administrator's regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, contained in such part 531 of this title. While employment on contracts subject to the Act would not ordinarily involve situations in which service employees would receive tips from third persons, the treatment of tips for wage purposes in the situations where this may occur should be understood. For purposes of this Act, tips may generally be included in wages in accordance with the regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, contained in part 531. (See also § 4.6(q) and § 4.163(k).) The general rule under that Act provides, when determining the wage an employer is required to pay a tipped employee, the maximum allowable hourly tip credit is limited to the difference between $2.13 and the applicable minimum wage specified in section 6(a)(1) of that Act. (See § 4.163(k) for exceptions in section 4(c) situations.) In no event shall the sum credited as tips exceed the value of tips actually received by the employee. The tip credit is not available to an employer unless the employer has informed the employee of the tip credit provisions and all tips received by the employee have been retained by the employee (other than as part of a valid tip pooling arrangement among employees who customarily and regularly receive tips; see section 3(m) of the Fair Labor Standards Act).