FAR 22.406-8—Investigations.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 22.406-8 explains how labor standards investigations are initiated, conducted, documented, and escalated when there is reason to believe a contractor may have violated applicable labor standards requirements. It covers when a contracting agency must investigate, the scope and staffing of the investigation, confidentiality protections for employee statements and Department of Labor files, the contracting officer’s review of the investigation report, contractor notification and rebuttal rights, requests for restitution and liquidated damages, and the reporting chain to the agency head and the Department of Labor. It also addresses when a detailed enforcement report must be sent to the Wage and Hour Division, when a summary report is sufficient, when a case may be closed, and when suspected criminal violations must be referred to the Attorney General. In practice, this section is the procedural bridge between a compliance check or complaint and formal enforcement action, ensuring that labor standards issues are investigated thoroughly, handled consistently, and escalated appropriately. It matters because it protects worker rights, preserves confidentiality, and gives contracting officials a structured process for deciding whether violations occurred and what remedies or referrals are required.
Key Rules
Investigate When Warranted
A labor standards investigation must be conducted when available information shows it is warranted, and the Department of Labor may also initiate or request an investigation. If a compliance check suggests substantial or willful violations, or that violations were not corrected, the contracting agency must investigate.
Full-Scope Review Required
The investigation must cover all aspects of the contractor’s compliance with contract labor standards requirements. It cannot be limited only to the issues raised in a complaint or the specific problems found during a compliance check.
Use Qualified Personnel
Investigations must be performed by personnel familiar with labor laws and how those laws apply to federal contracts. This requirement is meant to ensure the investigation is legally sound and that findings are based on proper labor standards analysis.
Protect Employee Confidentiality
Oral or written employee statements taken during the investigation, and the identity of the employee, may not be disclosed to anyone other than an authorized Government official without the employee’s prior signed consent. The contracting officer also may not disclose the identity of complainants or interviewed employees to the contractor without consent.
Coordinate With Labor Department
The contracting agency must request investigation and enforcement instructions or pertinent Department of Labor files from the Wage and Hour Division when needed. Material from Labor Department files generally cannot be disclosed to third parties without DOL permission, except for back wage and liquidated damages computations and summaries of back wages due to government contract administrators.
Review and Preliminary Findings
When the investigation report is received, the contracting officer must review it and make preliminary findings. Adverse findings should not normally rest solely on employee statements that the employee does not want disclosed, although a pattern of possible violations supported by such statements may still justify a noncompliance finding.
Contractor Notice and Rebuttal
The contractor must receive the written preliminary findings, proposed corrective actions, and notice of the right to request the basis for the findings and submit a written rebuttal. The contractor has 60 days to rebut; if no timely rebuttal is received, the preliminary findings become final.
Restitution and Liquidated Damages
If appropriate, the contracting officer must request restitution for underpaid wages and may assess liquidated damages. If liquidated damages are requested, the contractor must be told it has 60 days to request relief from the assessment.
Report Violations Up the Chain
After the review and contractor response process, the contracting officer must prepare a report of violations and supporting evidence for the agency head using SF 1446 as the first page. Depending on the facts, the report may need to be sent to the Wage and Hour Division within 60 days, summarized for DOL, closed in the contract file, or forwarded to the Attorney General for possible criminal prosecution.
Escalate Serious Cases
A detailed enforcement report must be sent to the Wage and Hour Division when underpayments are $1,000 or more, violations appear aggravated or willful, restitution has not been made, or future compliance has not been assured. If substantial evidence suggests a criminal statute was violated, the report must be forwarded to the Attorney General and DOL must be notified.
Responsibilities
Contracting Agency
Conduct a labor standards investigation when compliance checks indicate substantial or willful violations or uncorrected violations. Use personnel knowledgeable in labor law, protect confidentiality, obtain DOL instructions or files when needed, and forward required reports and referrals.
Contracting Officer
Review the investigation report, make preliminary findings, notify the contractor, consider rebuttals, request restitution or liquidated damages when appropriate, prepare the violation report, and determine the proper reporting path to the agency head, DOL, or the Attorney General.
Department of Labor / Wage and Hour Division
May initiate or request investigations, provide enforcement instructions and files, receive detailed or summary reports, and issue enforcement reports for DOL-led investigations.
Contractor
Review preliminary findings, request the basis for the findings if desired, submit a written rebuttal within 60 days, make restitution when required, and seek relief from liquidated damages within the stated time if applicable.
Agency Head
Receive and process the contracting officer’s report and ensure the matter is handled through the proper enforcement or closure path.
Attorney General
Receive referrals of cases with substantial evidence of willful conduct that may violate criminal statutes for possible prosecution.
Practical Implications
This section is a process-control rule as much as an enforcement rule: missing a step, especially notice, rebuttal rights, confidentiality, or reporting deadlines, can undermine the case or create procedural error.
Contracting officers should not treat a compliance check as the end of the matter; if the facts suggest broader or more serious violations, the investigation must expand to the contractor’s overall labor standards compliance.
Employee statements are sensitive. Disclosing identities or using undisclosed statements carelessly can compromise the investigation and violate confidentiality protections.
The 60-day rebuttal period and the 60-day deadline for sending detailed enforcement reports are easy to miss and should be tracked carefully.
A case may look minor at first, but underpayments of $1,000 or more, willful conduct, lack of restitution, or uncertain future compliance trigger escalation to DOL and possibly criminal referral.
Contractors should respond quickly and substantively to preliminary findings, because silence makes the preliminary findings final and can lead to restitution demands, liquidated damages, and enforcement reporting.
Official Regulatory Text
Conduct labor standards investigations when available information indicates such action is warranted. In addition, the Department of Labor may conduct an investigation on its own initiative or may request a contracting agency to do so. (a) Contracting agency responsibilities . Conduct an investigation when a compliance check indicates that substantial or willful violations may have occurred or violations have not been corrected. (1) The investigation must- (i) Include all aspects of the contractor’s compliance with contract labor standards requirements; (ii) Not be limited to specific areas raised in a complaint or uncovered during compliance checks; and (iii) Use personnel familiar with labor laws and their application to contracts. (2) Do not disclose contractor employees’ oral or written statements taken during an investigation or the employee’s identity to anyone other than an authorized Government official without that employee’s prior signed consent. (3) Send a written request to the Administrator, Wage and Hour Division, to obtain- (i) Investigation and enforcement instructions; or (ii) Available pertinent Department of Labor files. (4) Obtain permission from the Department of Labor before disclosing material obtained from Labor Department files, other than computations of back wages and liquidated damages and summaries of back wages due, to anyone other than Government contract administrators. (b) Investigation report. The contracting officer must review the investigation report on receipt and make preliminary findings. The contracting officer normally must not base adverse findings solely on employee statements that the employee does not wish to have disclosed. However, if the investigation establishes a pattern of possible violations that are based on employees’ statements that are not authorized for disclosure, the pattern itself may support a finding of noncompliance. (c) Contractor Notification. After completing the review, the contracting officer must- (1) Provide the contractor any written preliminary findings and proposed corrective actions, and notice that the contractor has the right to request that the basis for the findings be made available and to submit written rebuttal information. (2) Upon request, provide the contractor with rationale for the findings. However, under no circumstances will the contracting officer permit the contractor to examine the investigation report. Also, the contracting officer must not disclose the identity of any employee who filed a complaint or who was interviewed, without the prior consent of the employee. (3) (i) The contractor may rebut the findings in writing within 60 days after it receives a copy of the preliminary findings. The rebuttal becomes part of the official investigation record. If the contractor submits a rebuttal, evaluate the preliminary findings and notify the contractor of the final findings. (ii) If the contracting officer does not receive a timely rebuttal, the contracting officer must consider the preliminary findings final. (4) If appropriate, request the contractor to make restitution for underpaid wages and assess liquidated damages. If the request includes liquidated damages, the request must state that the contractor has 60 days to request relief from such assessment. (d) Contracting officer’s report. After taking the actions prescribed in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection- (1) The contracting officer must prepare and forward a report of any violations, including findings and supporting evidence, to the agency head. Standard Form 1446 , Labor Standards Investigation Summary Sheet, is the first page of the report; and (2) The agency head must process the report as follows: (i) The contracting officer must send a detailed enforcement report to the Administrator, Wage and Hour Division, within 60 days after completion of the investigation, if- (A) A contractor or subcontractor underpaid by $1,000 or more; (B) The contracting officer believes that the violations are aggravated or willful (or there is reason to believe that the contractor has disregarded its obligations to employees and subcontractors under the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute); (C) The contractor or subcontractor has not made restitution; or (D) Future compliance has not been assured. (ii) If the Department of Labor expressly requested the investigation and none of the conditions in paragraph (d)(2)(i) of this subsection exist, submit a summary report to the Administrator, Wage and Hour Division. The report must include- (A) A summary of any violations; (B) The amount of restitution paid; (C) The number of workers who received restitution; (D) The amount of liquidated damages assessed under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards statute; (E) Corrective measures taken; and (F) Any information that may be necessary to review any recommendations for an appropriate adjustment in liquidated damages. (iii) If none of the conditions in paragraphs (d)(2)(i) or (ii) of this subsection are present, close the case and retain the report in the appropriate contract file. (iv) If substantial evidence is found that violations are willful and in violation of a criminal statute, (generally 18 U.S.C. 874 or 1001), forward the report (supplemented if necessary) to the Attorney General of the United States for prosecution if the facts warrant. Notify the Administrator, Wage and Hour Division, when the report is forwarded for the Attorney General’s consideration. (e) Department of Labor investigations . The Department of Labor will furnish the contracting officer an enforcement report detailing violations found and any corrective action taken by the contractor, in investigations that disclose- (1) Underpayments totaling $1,000 or more; (2) Aggravated or willful violations (or, when the contracting officer believes that the contractor has disregarded its obligations to employees and subcontractors under the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute); or (3) Potential assessment of liquidated damages under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards statute. (f) Other investigations . The Department of Labor will provide a letter summarizing the findings of the investigation to the contracting officer for all investigations that are not described in paragraph (e) of this subsection.