Pub. L. 85-608, tit. II, sec. 201

Sec. 201. (a) Section 1 (a) of the Act of August 16, 1941 (ch. 357, 55 Stat. 622), as amended, is amended by inserting the following new clause between clause (5) and the last five lines: “(6) outside the continental United States or in Alaska or the Canal Zone by an American employer providing welfare or similar services for the benefit of the Armed Forces pursuant to appropriate authorization by the Secretary of Defense.” (b) Section 1 (b) of that Act is amended to read as follows: “(b) As used in this section— “(1) the term ‘public work’ means any fixed improvement or any project, whether or not fixed, involving construction, alteration, removal or repair for the public use of the United States or its allies, including but not limited to projects or operations under service contracts and projects in connection with the national defense or with war activities, dredging, harbor improvements, dams, roadways, and housing, as well as preparatory and ancillary work in connection therewith at the site or on the project; 72 Stat. 538 “(2) the term ‘allies’ means any nation with which the United States is engaged in a common military effort or with which the United States has entered into a common defensive military alliance; “(3) the term ‘war activities’ includes activities directly relating to military operations.” (c) Section 1 (e) of that Act is amended by striking the last sentence and by substituting the following two sentences: “Upon the recommendation of the head of any department or other agency of the United States, the Secretary of Labor, in the exercise of his discretion, may waive the application of this section with respect to any contract, subcontract, or subordinate contract, work location under such contracts, or classification of employees. Upon recommendation of any employer referred to in clause (6) of subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of Labor may waive the application of this section to any employee or class of employees of such employer, or to any place of employment of such an employee or class of employees.” (d) Section 1 (f) of that Act is amended to read as follows: “(f) The liability under this Act of a contractor, subcontractor, or subordinate contractor engaged in public work under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), subsection (a) of this section or in any work under subparagraph (5) subsection (a) of this section does not apply with respect to any person who is a prisoner of war or a protected person under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and who is detained or utilized by the United States.”