On July 7, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) issued its annual All Agency Memorandum (“AAM”) that sets the health and welfare (“H&W”) fringe benefit rates for Service Contract Act (“SCA”) covered contracts. The update went into effect upon its issuance and has been incorporated into DOL Wage Determinations (“WDs”).
Read MoreThe Trump Administration announced on June 25, 2025, that investigators of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) no longer will be authorized to seek the payment of liquidated damages for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations during the course of prelitigation investigations. This policy is the latest development in the Administration’s roll-back of wage and hour policies implemented by the Biden Administration.
Read MoreIf you thought President Biden’s Executive Order mandating the use of Project Labor Agreements was dying on the vine, think again. The Office of Management and Budget just told federal agencies that Biden’s Executive Order remains in effect. Is this the final word? Probably not.
Read MoreThe Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is relaunching its opinion letter program. While these opinion letters are aimed at the broader private sector, they’re particularly valuable for government contractors because compliance with basic wage and hour law is a cornerstone for fulfilling their prevailing wage obligations.
Read MoreThe Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s newsfeed dried up when the Trump administration came into office. Could the newsfeed drought be over? Possibly - WHD just announced two recent enforcement actions, one of which concerns the potential for bonus payments to require the payment of boosted overtime rates.
Read MoreDOL just published a new Field Assistance Bulletin to guide Wage and Hour Division field staff in how they should analyze whether workers have properly been classified as independent contractors or employees. So, is there anything new? Well, yes and no…
Read MoreA recent decision issued by the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals highlights how contractors might be forced to take a loss if they underbid their offers to perform service contracts.
Read MorePresident Trump signed an Executive Order entilled “Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement” (“EO”). Issued on March 20, 2025, the EO’s main purpose is to transfer the purchasing of “common goods and services” from across the Government to the General Services Administration (“GSA”). Yeah, well, good luck with this.
Read MoreExecutive Orders that intimidate our clients or meddle with their choice of counsel will have zero impact on the putative risks posed by law firms the President doesn’t like. For our part, we will be honored to represent our clients before the Government with zeal and without fear.
Read MoreGSA and DoD recently issued “Class Deviations” to implement President Trump’s Executive Order 14173 that repealed long-standing federal contract equal opportunity requirements. The deviations make significant changes to current and future solicitations and require the modification of existing contracts with more than six months remaining.
Read MorePresident Biden issued an Executive Order mandating the use of Project Labor Agreements for construction projects costing in excess of $35 million. A recent court decision and newly issued class deviations that waive the PLA requirement have put his EO on life support.
Read MorePresident Trump’s DEI Executive Order is an attempt to turn the ship of state on a dime with respect to anti-discrimination and diversity policies. Among other things, the order will require contractors and grantees to certify they don’t operate programs promoting DEI. The consequence of being wrong? — potential False Claims Act liability.
Read MoreThe Government Accountability Office recently denied the protest of an offeror that had failed to submit a binding Project Labor Agreement. This decision teaches an important lesson: if a solicitation requires an offeror to submit something, a bare promise to do so in the future won’t suffice.
Read MoreA pair of bid protest decisions found offerors ineligible for award because their SAM registrations briefly lapsed while their proposals were being evaluated. A recently published interim rule will excuse such foot faults. That said, contractors should always remember that their SAM registrations are part of each proposal they submit and should be well cared for.
Read MorePresident Biden has issued an Executive Order closing federal agencies in honor of President Carter. Existing policies make it clear that federal employees will, for the most part, receive paid leave. However, federal contractors must exercise their judgment about furnishing leave.
Read MoreWith the advent of a second Donald Trump administration, I had expected significant policy and enforcement changes at the Department of Labor. However, the President’s selection of Lori Chavez-DeRemer suggests changes will be course corrections, not u-turns.
Read MoreA Texas federal court rejected the Department of Labor’s recent increase to the salary threshold applicable to FLSA white-collar exemptions. That’s good news for employers because it will expand the numbers of workers exempt from the FLSA’s overtime and minimum wage requirements. But is this decision a worthy judicial foray into a political decision?
Read MoreThe US Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced actions it is taking to combat what it calls “coercive ‘fine print’ provisions” in employment agreements. One such action led to an injunction that barred a company from using its employment agreement to shift the cost of a wage and hour suit onto the very truck drivers who brought the claim. So, be advised—DOL is reading your fine print.
Read MoreThe US Department of Labor has issued its announcement of federal contractor minimum wage rates for 2025. For most nonexempt federal contractor employees, the new rate will be $17.75 per hour. However, contractors must review their wage rates across the board to make sure they're in compliance with the multiple minimum wage rates that could apply.
Read MoreTwo weeks ago, I wrote about a restaurant that settled a case over the alleged mishandling of tips and poor recordkeeping. While I don't generally hit the same topic back-to-back, I saw a recent Department of Labor lawsuit alleging a restaurant violated almost every wage and hour rule. For some of you, we really need to get back to basics.
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