The award of an emergency follow-on contract to a new successor contractor doesn’t change the operation of the Service Contract Act (“SCA”) Section 4(c) succcessor contractor rule. The follow-on contract is still subject to the wages and fringe benefits set forth in the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) entered into by the predecessor contractor.
Read MoreThe SCA bars contractors from allocating their own plan administrative expenses towards compliance with the prevailing H&W fringe benefit However, this doesn’t bar an employer from claiming a credit for the expenses borne by the benefit plan. This dichotmy sometimes produces disputes and misunderstandings. Lately, DOL has been eying a more aggressive stance on administrative expenses.
Read MoreThe child labor laws have long prohibited minors from performing time sensitive delivery services. The idea is they are too tender and inexperienced as drivers, and it is unsafe work. Recently, a pizza palor business learned that ancient taboo the hard way, with DOL imposing civil money penalties for child labor violations.
Read MoreIn with the new and out with the old. Marty Walsh takes the helm at DOL and new proposed rulemaking and pull backs of the Trump Administration’s tip credit initiatives continue apace. Elections have consequences.
Read MoreThe FLSA may permit employers to pay their salaried employees using a fluctuating work week (“FWW”) method that only results in a payment of a half-time premium for overtime hours worked.
Read MoreJust some musings on practicing government contracts law and the stability of the federal contracting community.
Read MoreCivil Money Penalties were subject to their annual adjustment. This year it was about a 1.2% upward adjustment. This includes the FLSA penalties. But it didn’t affect the CWHSSA or PCA penalties since they are rounded to a whole number and the inflation factor was not significant enough to cause that to happen.
Read MoreWhen an employee performs work before traveling to the office, or after leaving the office, and has sufficient time to use for her own purposes, then the time spent traveling between home and the office is not compensable.
Read MoreThe future is unknowable. But here are some wage and hour predictions for 2021.
Read MoreDOL is on record of claiming jurisdiction over research and development (“R&D”) contracts under the SCA unless some other specific exemption applies.
Read MoreIf you want to give an employee a holiday gift card, and exclude the value from the regular rate of pay, it would be prudent not to announce the gift in advance and perhaps even make the award of the gift card conditioned upon “unique or extraordinary efforts” or for “challenging or stressful situations”, or for a “worker-of-the-month” bonus.
Read MoreComments on new independent contractor proposed rules are due by Oct. 22, 2020. Don’t expect any major changes in the final rules as a result of your comments.
Read MoreIf you are inclined to inform on your neighbor or employer, the Trump Administration has set up a new hotline number at 202-343-2008 or you can email OFCCPComplaintHotline@dol.gov and let them know if a government contractor is violating the new diversity training Executive Order.
Read MoreThe Trump Administration isn’t necessarily a lame duck, but it sure is acting like it by rushing employment law regulations and Executive Orders into place like this is their last chance. We have seen this show before, and it usually doesn’t end that well.
Read MoreEffective January 1, 2021, Federal Government contractors will be required to pay certain employees working on or in connection with a Government contract at least $10.95 an hour. This is a 15 cent an hour increase (i.e., 1.4%) over the current Contractor Minimum Wage.
Read MoreThe Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) has certain recordkeeping requirements that employers need to observe. This blog covers some of those requirements and the timekeeping and rounding practices that are permissible.
Read MoreWhen new employees start work on a SCA covered contract, the employer faces a connundrum with respect to vacation bnefits. The employer can furnish the benefits immediately, and just pay benefits in excess of the SCA, resulting in payments above the minimum prevailing wage and impairing its right to a price adjustment the next option year. Or it can pay no vacation benefits, or just give leave without pay, and demoralize the new workers. But there is a third although relatively infrequently used course of action called an advanced or prepayment agreement or policy whereby the worker elects to receive the vacation benefit immediately on hiring, but the employer reserves the ability to get a credit for furnishing the benefit on the next anniversay date of employment.
Read MoreDon’t let the Boards of Conract Appeals fool you. Contractors have 120 days to appeal decisons to the Federal Circuit. Sitting on your claim for reimbursement is never a good idea. Once you get a final decision, the appeal clock is running.
Read MoreA new Executive Order was issued on August 3, 2020 to require reports be created by federal contracting agencies on use of foreign labor on government contracts and to discourage the employment of H-B1 Visa holders on federal government contracts.
Read MoreDOL requires the annual use or cash out of the vacation benefit under the SCA and does not allow covered workers to bank or carry forward the unused vacation leave into another anniversary period .
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