Posts in By Kirby Rousseau
What Me Worry -- New SCA H&W Rates Issued by AAM 230.

The U.S. Department of Labor issued All Agency Memorandum (“AAM”) no. 230 posting new health and welfare (“H&W”) fringe benefit rates for Service Contract Act (“SCA”) covered contracts effective July 5, 2019. The new H&W rates are $4.54 an hour, except if there is a sick leave Executive Order clause in the contract, whereupon the H&W rates are set at $4.22 an hour.

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Claims for CBA Negotiation Costs Are Not In Time and Not Subject to Any Price Adjustment In Fixed Priced Contracts

The Court of Federal Claims decsion in Just In Time Staffing maintains the long-established practice of limiting the FAR price adjustment clause to its plain language – covering the increased costs of wages and fringe benefits of the contractor’s employees and certain enumerated payroll taxes — and not to the cost to negotiate a CBA.

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When Does a Service Contract Act ("SCA") Dispute Get Appealed to a BCA rather than DOL?

In 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.

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Highly Compensated and Thus More Easily Exempted

Employees who are highly compensated at the rate of $100,000 a year just need to have one exempt duty so long as the worker’s primary duty is the performance of office or nonmanual activities. This makes for a much more relaxed test of exempt status from minimum wage, overtime and prevailing wage requirements.

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Federal Enclave Doctrine -- Sometimes State Wage and Hour Claims are Barred

Sometimes federal contractors are working on goverment installations and find themselves being sued under state or local wage and hour laws. In exceptional crcumstances, these state causes of action may be barred by the federal enclave doctrine, which makes federal law supreme over certain government properties where the state has receded from jurisdiction.

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