The Department of Labor announced yesterday the Wage and Hour Division plans to hire 100 investigators this year. For sure, they’ll be earnest and energized. That’s why a solid grounding in the wage and hour laws affecting the government contractor community will be a powerful tool to ensure you get a fair shake.
Read MoreThe $15 Minimum Wage Executive Order (“MW EO”) only applies on or after January 30, 2022, and then only to new contracts. It doesn’t apply to the time period worked in the prior contract under the old MW EO. For that period in 2022, all that is legally due is the $11.25 MW or any higher prevailing wage. While DOL is specifying the new $15 MW was intended to apply to hours spent performing on that new contract in 2022, that just means the new contract hours. Service and construction contractors should wait patiently for the new option year, or when the new MW EO clause is added to the contract ,and get a price adjustment for any extra costs.
Read MoreDepartment of Labor Wage and Hour Opinion Letters follow the ebb and flow of conservative and liberal executive administrations. When President Biden was inaugurated, we began a period where new Opinion Letters are a scarcity. This follows the practice of previous liberal administrations.
Read MoreThe ASBCA holds that FAR 22.404-12(c) does not require that notice be given to offers that they have the opportunity to escalate labor rates into their bid pricing even when the offers will not receive a price adjustment after a new Wage Determination is incorporated into the contract.
Read MoreThe Tenth Circuit holds that the Union in this case cannot compel the Contractor to arbitrate Davis-Bacon job classifications. However, the court did not hold that Davis-Bacon job classifications are not arbitrable. This article was written by our very own Kirby Rousseau for The Government Contractor publication.
Read MoreWhen bidding on and pricing US government extended term fixed price contracts, contractors need to price in the possibility that state minimum wages will exceed the SCA or DBA wage levels, and require an escalation be paid, but the contracting agency will not adjust the contract price for that occurrence.
Read MoreThe District of Columbia is allowing workers to bring a prevailing wage claim under the guise of a municipal statute, thereby eroding the rule that only DOL enforces the federal prevailing wage laws and there is no private cause of action.
Read MoreOn July 21, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published proposed regulations that implement President Biden’s Executive Order establishing a $15 an hour minimum wage for workers who perform on or in connection with federal contracts. While this is a new rule, it’s nearly identical to the existing federal contractor minimum wage requirements. Thus, what was clear before is still clear. What wasn’t, isn’t.
Read MoreHere is an unofficial “form”, with some minor edits and adjustments made by us, which requires subcontractors to acknowlege their obligations with repect to the prevailing wage laws. It is no panacea or substitute to good flow down of subconract terms, but in one page it does an effective job of emphasizing the duties being imposed on the subcontractor, and thus can help avoid misunderstandings or minimize inadvertent errors.
Read MoreThe Davis-Bacon Act contains different price adjustment clauses that are used in a variety of scenarios.
Read MorePer Bloomberg News, President Biden is reviewing his options with regard to updating President Obama’s Executive Order encouraging Project Labor Agreements.
Read MoreThe following is a checklist of some best practices to follow when bidding on prevailing wage work like the Davis-Bacon Act or the Service Contract Act.
Read MorePresident Joe Biden signed an Executive Order increasing the federal contractor minimum wage to $15.00 an hour.
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 MoreFor many who are working remotely, it feels like decades since they’ve strolled down to the break room where they can view many notices required by various employment laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), the Service Contract Act (“SCA”), and the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (“EPPA”). A recent bulletin issued by the Department of Labor provides much needed guidance about how employers may use electronic posting to fulfill their posting obligations in the remote working world.
Read MoreThe future is unknowable. But here are some wage and hour predictions for 2021.
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 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 MoreDrilling work presents a a perrenial issue of which prevailing wage law is in play. One of the most challenging parts of wage and hour law revolves around the overlap of Service Contract Act (“SCA”) and Davis-Bacon Act (“DBA”) coverage. It is entirely possible for an employee doing the same physical drilling activity to be covered by a different wage law on the next contract.
Read MoreHere is a short summary of the differing scope of geographical coverage of the various federal wage and hour laws.
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