Enacted in late 2022, the PUMP at Work Act expanded the right of nursing mothers to reasonable breaks and appropriate space to express breast milk in the first year of a child’s life. I recently ate at a small restaurant and wondered how it might be able to provide the space for a nursing mother. Barring truly significant hardship, my advice is to just figure it out.
Read MoreOn January 1, 2024, if no further injunctions are issued or appeals are decided, a new federal government contractor minimum wage as high as $17.20 will go into effect.
Read MoreLast week a Texas judge rejected President Biden’s Executive Order that requires federal contractors to pay a minimum wage when they are working on or in connection with a covered federal contract. This is the latest installment in the ongoing battle over the President’s use of Executive Orders to direct federal contractors to adopt workplace rules under the federal Procurement Act.
Read MoreThe new proposed FLSA salary basis test regulation is a good thing.
Read MoreHere’s some old news that bears repeating. When it comes to prices offered to the Government to perform a fixed-price service contract, GAO won’t second guess the award of a contract with low-ball prices even though it might appear there’s no way the contractor would pay the minimum wage rates required by the Service Contract Act.
Read MoreDOL’s new DBRA regulations has some clarifications and guidance as to its future treatment of benefit plan administrative expenses charged by third party administrators to various DBRA and SCA H&W plans. Get ready for more enforcement actions by DOL to disallow plan expenses and for more disputes between employers and TPAs over the cost of such fees.
Read MoreYour Department of Labor (“DOL”) has been hard at work this summer. And as Labor Day was on the horizon, it made sense that two more of their summer projects would find their way to my inbox.
Read MoreIf you furnish a qualified health care benefit to workers under Hawaii law, then you are allowed to pay a lower health and welfare (“H&W”) benefit under the Service Contract Act (“SCA”).
Read MoreA recent decision by the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals presents a fact pattern the likes of which would rival the finest of law exams. This mess all arose out of a contracting agency’s failure to include the Service Contract Act. Read on to learn why this case should be read with caution.
Read MoreHere is a practical guide to doing research on whether federal government facilities and lands are federal enclaves such that the application of state employment laws (including state or local wage and hour laws) are barred.
Read MoreSomething old, some things new… DOL publishes final rule that represents the most significant overhaul of its Davis Bacon Act regulations in over 40 years. Numbering over 800 pages, the new rule and its commentary offers a lot to chew on. Here are some highlights.
Read MoreUnder the Service Contract Act (“SCA”), negotiated CBA wage rates can be lower than the prevailing wage rate, and the CBA is not automatically displaced by the higher SCA wages or benefits set forth in a prevailing wage determination.
Read MoreA recent decision issued by the Court of Federal Claims discusses what happens if an employee says he plans to leave, but hasn’t departed, the company putting him forward as a key person for a contract. Read on for some thoughts about how this decision affects what can happen if a key person decides to bail.
Read MoreWe have two different Contractor Minimum Wage Executive Orders. One requires a $12.15 minimum wage. The other requires a $16.20 an hour minimum wage. But the curious thing is they both use the same FAR section clause number — FAR 52.225-55. Confused.? So am I.
Read MoreBan TikTok on all devices. Sound simple enough, but is it? Yeah, maybe not. Read on for some thoughts about what’s required to comply with the new federal contract clause that implements the ban of TikTok and ByteDance apps on federal “information technology” whatever that really means.
Read MoreThe new Service Contract Act (“SCA”) health and welfare (“H&W”) rates are out and made effective to new solicitations and contracts on June 27, 2023. Except for in Hawaii, the new H&W rates are $4.57 an hour if the sick leave executive order applies, and $4.98 an hour if it doesn’t.
Read MoreExplaining how we ended up with two different names for our construction and service contract wage laws and why the Department of Labor’s naming preference is superior.
Read MoreGovernment contractors, at least as an investment option, continue to underperform the S&P 5000 average. The lack luster 2023 year to date returns (and downright losses) come on the heals of a miserable 2022 performance. If you are working for a government contractor and invested heavily in its stock, perhaps you should be wishing for a recession to revive your lagging performnce.
Read MoreWhen we’re assisting clients respond to Department of Labor investigations, one question that regularly comes up is “what can I say to my employees about all this?” We may have a range of suggestions depending on the circumstances, but we’ll never advise you to hire a fake priest to dupe employees into confessing workplace sins.
Read MoreNo surprise. Women want the same thing men want — better pay and more flexible working arrangements. And the Boomers want a more secure retirement.
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