DOL is cleaning up some (but not all) of the confusion surrounding the use of the Fluctuating Work Week (“FWW”) / half-time method of paying overtime to salaried workers. DOL has proposed that bonuses and other payments in addition to the salary will not get in the way of the payment of a half-time overtime premium to otherwise salaried workers.
Read MoreThe Service Contract Act once had an expansive exemption for certain commercial contracts, but the current iteration of the DOL and FAR rules cut back on that significantly and left a very restricted SCA prime and subcontract exemption that few contractors can use.
Read MoreWhen government service contractors unionize, they can pass the cost of any well-timed wage and benefit increases to the US government under the Service Contract Act Price Adjustment clause.
Read MorePresident Trump revoked EO 13495 on Oct. 31, 2019, without formal rulemaking, and thereby set up a situation where new and existing solicitations, and current contracts containing the Nondisplacement Executive Order clause, will likely be subject to some confusion until the regulatory situation is resolved. But the bottom line is the service employee first right of refusal requirement has been revoked and there will be no more DOL enforcement actions.
Read MoreThe Service Contract Act (“SCA”) presents both opportunities and peril each time a contractor submits a proposal to work on a covered contract. This is a primer on some of those pitfalls and opportunities.
Read MoreUnder the Service Contract Act (“SCA”), employers with self-insured unfunded health and weflare (“H&W”) plans are better off forming a trust and paying acturial premiums into the trust monthly so they can get proper credit for the fringe benefits furnished.
Read MoreComp time is ordinarily only used for public sector workers or exempt employees. But sometime workers are mislassified as exempt and erroneously receive comp time. In those circumstances, the employer should get a credit for the comp time actually paid towards any premium overtime due.
Read MoreThe Service Contract Act has complex rules for wages and benefits. Here is a Q&A format with a few answers to questions posed by a small business employer.
Read MoreThe Service Contract Act (“SCA”) covers all “service employees” working on or in connection with a government service contract. But that begs the issue of when a worker is directly working on a contract versus indirectly facilitating the performance of the work. As to where the coverage line is drawn, that depends on the contract terms and the employee’s job duties.
Read MoreGiven the impending run out of grandfather contracts award and CBAs, the time is near that the sick leave Executive Order will apply to most service and construction contracts.
Read MoreAny interested party can furnish a written submission pointing out lagging prevailing wage rates to the Wage & Hour Division, and present additional wage data for them to consider as they issue new Service Contract Act (SCA) or Davis-Bacon Act wage determinations.
Read MoreService Contract Act (“SCA”) vacation benefits which are accrued on a pay period basis present serious compliance issues for employers trying to prove they furnished the requisite prevailing fringe benefits.
Read MoreThe SCA preempted a State law wage claim for trebled damages, giving new life to a preemption doctrine which had largely been relegated to the dustbin by clever pleading and expansive court interpretations.
Read MoreCheryl M. Stanton has assumed the office of the Wage and Hour Administrator and is now in charge of the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor.
Read MoreOn June 13, 2019 WDOL.gov is finally supposed to be moving to SAM.gov and you should be able to find your official wage determinations there for Davis-Bacon Act and Service Contract Act procurements.
Read MoreThe Contract Work Safety Standards Act (“CWHSSA”) is a federal government contractor wage law that regulates overtime. It now provides for liquidated damages in excess of $25 a day for every day an employer violates the Act.
Read MoreDOL just posted two new FLSA opinion letters and a FMLA opinion letter. It also just announced its opinion letter database is searcheable. Watch out Westlaw!
Read MoreIn some disputes under the Service Contract Act (“SCA”), the contractor has to take his claims first to the US Department of Labor (“DOL”). In other circumstances, a final determination by the DOL is not required to bring a direct claim for reimbursement against the Government.
Read MoreContrary to the usual assumptions that DOL is going to look back at least two years, sometimes it is perfectly appropriate for DOL to forgo back wages and just seek prospective corrective action.
Read MoreThe announcement of three new appointments to the DOL Administrative Review Board (“ARB”), each for a two year term, is a modest step forward. Now the ARB has a quorum and can get to work. The three new members are William Thomas Barto, James A. Haynes, and Daniel T. Gresh.
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