§ 5.33 - Administrative expenses of a contractor or subcontractor.

§ 5.33 xxx

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Administrative expenses of a contractor or subcontractor.

(a) Creditable costs. The costs incurred by a contractor's insurance carrier, third-party trust fund, or other third-party administrator that are directly related to the administration and delivery of bona fide fringe benefits to the contractor's laborers and mechanics can be credited towards the contractor's obligations under a Davis-Bacon wage determination. Thus, for example, a contractor may take credit for the premiums it pays to an insurance carrier or the contributions it makes to a third-party trust fund that both administers and delivers bona fide fringe benefits under a plan, where the insurance carrier or third-party trust fund uses those monies to pay for bona fide fringe benefits and for the administration and delivery of such benefits, including evaluating benefit claims, deciding whether they should be paid, approving referrals to specialists, and other reasonable costs of administering the plan. Similarly, a contractor may also take credit for monies paid to a third-party administrator to perform tasks that are directly related to the administration and delivery of bona fide fringe benefits, including under an unfunded plan.

(b) Noncreditable costs. A contractor's own administrative expenses incurred in connection with the provision of fringe benefits are considered business expenses of the firm and are therefore not creditable towards the contractor's prevailing wage obligations, including when the contractor pays a third party to perform such tasks in whole or in part. For example, a contractor may not take credit for the costs of office employees who perform tasks such as filling out medical insurance claim forms for submission to an insurance carrier, paying and tracking invoices from insurance carriers or plan administrators, updating the contractor's personnel records when workers are hired or separate from employment, sending lists of new hires and separations to insurance carriers or plan administrators, or sending out tax documents to the contractor's workers, nor can the contractor take credit for the cost of paying a third-party entity to perform these tasks. Additionally, recordkeeping costs associated with ensuring the contractor's compliance with the Davis-Bacon fringe benefit requirements, such as the cost of tracking the amount of a contractor's fringe benefit contributions or making sure contributions cover the fringe benefit amount claimed, are considered a contractor's own administrative expenses and are not considered directly related to the administration and delivery of bona fide fringe benefits. Thus, such costs are not creditable whether the contractor performs those tasks itself or whether it pays a third party a fee to perform those tasks.

(c) Questions regarding administrative expenses. Any questions regarding whether a particular cost or expense is creditable towards a contractor's prevailing wage obligations should be referred to the Administrator for resolution prior to any such credit being claimed.

[88 FR 57747, Aug. 23, 2023

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