Reading Room Document

Applicability of the Service Contract Act to Volunteer Workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 512, the Office of Legal Counsel has jurisdiction to resolve a legal dispute between the Departments of Commerce and Labor where the request for the opinion was made by the General Counsel of Commerce under authority delegated from the Secretary of Commerce. The Service Contract Act prohibits contractors operating the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration library from using voluntary, uncompensated employees. Commerce may petition the Secretary of Labor for an exemption to permit the use of volunteer employees under the NOAA contract. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/24296/download.

July 31, 1989