§ 4.191 - Complaints and compliance assistance.

§ 4.191 Complaints and compliance assistance.

(a) Any employer, employee, labor or trade organization, contracting agency, or other interested person or organization may report to any office of the Wage and Hour Division (or to any office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in instances involving the safety and health provisions), a violation, or apparent violation, of the Act, or of any of the rules or regulations prescribed thereunder. Such offices are also available to assist or provide information to contractors or subcontractors desiring to insure that their practices are in compliance with the Act. Information furnished is treated confidentially. It is the policy of the Department of Labor to protect the identity of its confidential sources and to prevent an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Accordingly, the identity of an employee who makes a confidential written or oral statement as a complaint or in the course of an investigation, as well as portions of the statement which would reveal his identity, will not be disclosed without the prior consent of the employee. Disclosure of employee statements shall be governed by the provisions of the “Freedom of Information Act” (5 U.S.C. 552, see 29 CFR part 70) and the “Privacy Act of 1974” (5 U.S.C. 552a).

(b) A report of breach or violation relating solely to safety and health requirements may be in writing and addressed to the Regional Administrator of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor, or to the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20210.

(c) Any other report of breach or violation may be in writing and addressed to the Assistant Regional Administrator of a Wage and Hour Division's regional office, U.S. Department of Labor, or to the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20210.

(d) In the event that an Assistant Regional Administrator for the Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards Administration, is notified of a breach or violation which also involves safety and health standards, the Regional Administrator of the Employment Standards Administration Wage and Hour Division shall notify the appropriate Regional Administrator of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration who shall with respect to the safety and health violation violations take action commensurate with his responsibilities pertaining to safety and health standards.

(e) Any report should contain the following:

(1) The full name and address of the person or organization reporting the breach or violations.

(2) The full name and address of the person against whom the report is made.

(3) A clear and concise statement of the facts constituting the alleged breach or violation of any of the provisions of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, or of any of the rules or regulations prescribed thereunder.

[48 FR 49762, Oct. 27, 1983, as amended at 82 FR 2225, Jan. 9, 2017]