(a) General. Recipients will be considered to have complied with requirements in this part, in the absence of evidence to the contrary if they:

(1) Certify that they have followed the prioritization of effort in §75.19; and

(2) Meet or exceed the applicable Section 3 benchmark as described in paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) Establishing benchmarks.

(1) HUD will establish Section 3 benchmarks for Section 3 workers or Targeted Section 3 workers or both through a document published in the Federal Register. HUD may establish a single nationwide benchmark for Section 3 workers and a single nationwide benchmark for Targeted Section 3 workers, or may establish multiple benchmarks based on geography, the nature of the Section 3 project, or other variables. HUD will update the benchmarks through a document published in the Federal Register, subject to public comment, not less frequently than once every 3 years. Such notice shall include aggregate data on labor hours and the proportion of recipients meeting benchmarks, as well as other metrics reported pursuant to §75.25 as deemed appropriate by HUD, for the 3 most recent reporting years.

(2) In establishing the Section 3 benchmarks, HUD may consider the industry averages for labor hours worked by specific categories of workers or in different localities or regions; averages for labor hours worked by Section 3 workers and Targeted Section 3 workers as reported by recipients pursuant to this section; and any other factors HUD deems important. In establishing the Section 3 benchmarks, HUD will exclude professional services from the total number of labor hours as such hours are excluded from the total number of labor hours to be reported per §75.25(a)(4).

(3) Section 3 benchmarks will consist of the following two ratios:

(i) The number of labor hours worked by Section 3 workers divided by the total number of labor hours worked by all workers on a Section 3 project in the recipient's program year.

(ii) The number of labor hours worked by Targeted Section 3 workers as defined in §75.21(a), divided by the total number of labor hours worked by all workers on a Section 3 project in the recipient's program year.