42 U.S.C. § 1437j : US Code - Section 1437J: Labor standards and community service requirement

Search 42 U.S.C. § 1437j : US Code - Section 1437J: Labor standards and community service requirement

(a) Payment of wages prevailing in locality
Any contract for loans, contributions, sale, or lease pursuant to
this chapter shall contain a provision requiring that not less than
the wages prevailing in the locality, as determined or adopted
(subsequent to a determination under applicable State or local law)
by the Secretary, shall be paid to all architects, technical
engineers, draftsmen, and technicians employed in the development,
and all maintenance laborers and mechanics employed in the
operation, of the low-income housing project involved; and shall
also contain a provision that not less than the wages prevailing in
the locality, as predetermined by the Secretary of Labor pursuant
to sections 3141-3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, shall be paid to
all laborers and mechanics employed in the development of the
project involved (including a project with nine or more units
assisted under section 1437f of this title, where the public
housing agency or the Secretary and the builder or sponsor enter
into agreement for such use before construction or rehabilitation
is commenced), and the Secretary shall require certification as to
compliance with the provisions of this section prior to making any
payment under such contract.
(b) Exception for volunteers
Subsection (a) of this section and the provisions relating to
wages (pursuant to subsection (a) of this section) in any contract
for loans, annual contributions, sale, or lease pursuant to this
chapter, shall not apply to any individual that -
(1) performs services for which the individual volunteered;
(2)(A) does not receive compensation for such services; or
(B) is paid expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee for
such services; and
(3) is not otherwise employed at any time in the construction
work.
(c) Community service requirement
(1) In general
Except as provided in paragraph (2) and notwithstanding any
other provision of law, each adult resident of a public housing
project shall -
(A) contribute 8 hours per month of community service (not
including political activities) within the community in which
that adult resides; or
(B) participate in an economic self-sufficiency program (as
that term is defined in subsection (g) of this section) for 8
hours per month.
(2) Exemptions
The Secretary shall provide an exemption from the applicability
of paragraph (1) for any individual who -
(A) is 62 years of age or older;
(B) is a blind or disabled individual, as defined under
section 216(i)(1) or 1614 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
416(i)(1); 1382c), and who is unable to comply with this
section, or is a primary caretaker of such individual;
(C) is engaged in a work activity (as such term is defined in
section 407(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 607(d)),
as in effect on and after July 1, 1997)); (!1)
(D) meets the requirements for being exempted from having to
engage in a work activity under the State program funded under
part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et
seq.) or under any other welfare program of the State in which
the public housing agency is located, including a State-
administered welfare-to-work program; or
(E) is in a family receiving assistance under a State program
funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or under any other welfare program of the
State in which the public housing agency is located, including
a State-administered welfare-to-work program, and has not been
found by the State or other administering entity to be in
noncompliance with such program.
(3) Annual determinations
(A) Requirement
For each public housing resident subject to the requirement
under paragraph (1), the public housing agency shall, 30 days
before the expiration of each lease term of the resident under
section 1437d(l)(1) of this title, review and determine the
compliance of the resident with the requirement under paragraph
(1) of this subsection.
(B) Due process
Such determinations shall be made in accordance with the
principles of due process and on a nondiscriminatory basis.
(C) Noncompliance
If an agency determines that a resident subject to the
requirement under paragraph (1) has not complied with the
requirement, the agency -
(i) shall notify the resident -
(I) of such noncompliance;
(II) that the determination of noncompliance is subject
to the administrative grievance procedure under subsection
(k); (!2) and
(III) that, unless the resident enters into an agreement
under clause (ii) of this subparagraph, the resident's
lease will not be renewed; and
(ii) may not renew or extend the resident's lease upon
expiration of the lease term and shall take such action as is
necessary to terminate the tenancy of the household, unless
the agency enters into an agreement, before the expiration of
the lease term, with the resident providing for the resident
to cure any noncompliance with the requirement under
paragraph (1), by participating in an economic self-
sufficiency program for or contributing to community service
as many additional hours as the resident needs to comply in
the aggregate with such requirement over the 12-month term of
the lease.
(4) Ineligibility for occupancy for noncompliance
A public housing agency may not renew or extend any lease, or
provide any new lease, for a dwelling unit in public housing for
any household that includes an adult member who was subject to
the requirement under paragraph (1) and failed to comply with the
requirement.
(5) Inclusion in plan
Each public housing agency shall include in its public housing
agency plan a detailed description of the manner in which the
agency intends to implement and administer this subsection.
(6) Geographic location
The requirement under paragraph (1) may include community
service or participation in an economic self-sufficiency program
performed at a location not owned by the public housing agency.
(7) Prohibition against replacement of employees
In carrying out this subsection, a public housing agency may
not -
(A) substitute community service or participation in an
economic self-sufficiency program, as described in paragraph
(1), for work performed by a public housing employee; or
(B) supplant a job at any location at which community work
requirements are fulfilled.
(8) Third-party coordinating
A public housing agency may administer the community service
requirement under this subsection directly, through a resident
organization, or through a contractor having experience in
administering volunteer-based community service programs within
the service area of the public housing agency. The Secretary may
establish qualifications for such organizations and contractors.
(d) Treatment of income changes resulting from welfare program
requirements
(1) Covered family
For purposes of this subsection, the term "covered family"
means a family that (A) receives benefits for welfare or public
assistance from a State or other public agency under a program
for which the Federal, State, or local law relating to the
program requires, as a condition of eligibility for assistance
under the program, participation of a member of the family in an
economic self-sufficiency program, and (B) resides in a public
housing dwelling unit or is provided tenant-based assistance
under section 1437f of this title.
(2) Decreases in income for failure to comply
(A) In general
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1437a(a) of this
title (relating to family rental contributions) or paragraph
(4) or (5) of section 1437a(b) of this title (relating to
definition of income and adjusted income), if the welfare or
public assistance benefits of a covered family are reduced
under a Federal, State, or local law regarding such an
assistance program because of any failure of any member of the
family to comply with the conditions under the assistance
program requiring participation in an economic self-sufficiency
program or imposing a work activities requirement, the amount
required to be paid by the family as a monthly contribution
toward rent may not be decreased, during the period of the
reduction, as a result of any decrease in the income of the
family (to the extent that the decrease in income is a result
of the benefits reduction).
(B) No reduction based on time limit for assistance
For purposes of this paragraph, a reduction in benefits as a
result of the expiration of a lifetime time limit for a family
receiving welfare or public assistance benefits shall not be
considered to be a failure to comply with the conditions under
the assistance program requiring participation in an economic
self-sufficiency program or imposing a work activities
requirement. This paragraph shall apply beginning on October
21, 1998.
(3) Effect of fraud
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1437a(a) of this
title (relating to family rental contributions) or paragraph (4)
or (5) of section 1437a(b) of this title (relating to definition
of income and adjusted income), if the welfare or public
assistance benefits of a covered family are reduced because of an
act of fraud by a member of the family under the law or program,
the amount required to be paid by the covered family as a monthly
contribution toward rent may not be decreased, during the period
of the reduction, as a result of any decrease in the income of
the family (to the extent that the decrease in income is a result
of the benefits reduction). This paragraph shall apply beginning
on October 21, 1998.
(4) Notice
Paragraphs (2) and (3) shall not apply to any covered family
before the public housing agency providing assistance under this
chapter on behalf of the family obtains written notification from
the relevant welfare or public assistance agency specifying that
the family's benefits have been reduced because of noncompliance
with economic self-sufficiency program or work activities
requirements or fraud, and the level of such reduction.
(5) Occupancy rights
This subsection may not be construed to authorize any public
housing agency to establish any time limit on tenancy in a public
housing dwelling unit or on receipt of tenant-based assistance
under section 1437f of this title.
(6) Review
Any covered family residing in public housing that is affected
by the operation of this subsection shall have the right to
review the determination under this subsection through the
administrative grievance procedure established pursuant to
section 1437d(k) of this title for the public housing agency.
(7) Cooperation agreements for economic self-sufficiency
activities
(A) Requirement
A public housing agency providing public housing dwelling
units or tenant-based assistance under section 1437f of this
title for covered families shall make its best efforts to enter
into such cooperation agreements, with State, local, and other
agencies providing assistance to covered families under welfare
or public assistance programs, as may be necessary, to provide
for such agencies to transfer information to facilitate
administration of subsection (c) of this section and paragraphs
(2), (3), and (4) of this subsection and other information
regarding rents, income, and assistance that may assist a
public housing agency or welfare or public assistance agency in
carrying out its functions.
(B) Contents
A public housing agency shall seek to include in a
cooperation agreement under this paragraph requirements and
provisions designed to target assistance under welfare and
public assistance programs to families residing in public
housing projects and families receiving tenant-based assistance
under section 1437f of this title, which may include providing
for economic self-sufficiency services within such housing,
providing for services designed to meet the unique employment-
related needs of residents of such housing and recipients of
such assistance, providing for placement of workfare positions
on-site in such housing, and such other elements as may be
appropriate.
(C) Confidentiality
This paragraph may not be construed to authorize any release
of information prohibited by, or in contravention of, any other
provision of Federal, State, or local law.
(e) Lease provisions
A public housing agency shall incorporate into leases under
section 1437d(l) of this title and into agreements for the
provision of tenant-based assistance under section 1437f of this
title, provisions incorporating the conditions under subsection (d)
of this section.
(f) Treatment of income
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in
determining the income of a family who resides in public housing or
receives tenant-based assistance under section 1437f of this title,
a public housing agency shall consider any decrease in the income
of a family that results from the reduction of any welfare or
public assistance benefits received by the family under any
Federal, State, or local law regarding a program for such
assistance if the family (or a member thereof, as applicable) has
complied with the conditions for receiving such assistance and is
unable to obtain employment notwithstanding such compliance.
(g) Definition
For purposes of this section, the term "economic self-sufficiency
program" means any program designed to encourage, assist, train, or
facilitate the economic independence of participants and their
families or to provide work for participants, including programs
for job training, employment counseling, work placement, basic
skills training, education, workfare, financial or household
management, apprenticeship, or other activities as the Secretary
may provide.