Service Contract Act (SCA)
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A contract to perform services for a federal agency, unless one of the rare SCA exemptions applies, will typically contain a wage determination which specifies, for each occupation, the minimum hourly (or hourly equivalent) rate. Fringe benefits are also specified and must be furnished, or they may be paid as cash equivalents under very stringent rules. There are regulatory record keeping requirements.
Federal service contractors are usually subject to overtime standards of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under either CWHSSA or FLSA, there are a few overtime exemption possibilities. Contractors who believe that the overtime standards do not apply should verify the accuracy of such conclusions.
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The SCA rules are so complex that there are myriad possible types of violations or reasons for a contractor not to be in compliance. Failure to pay correct wage rates and/or to deal with required fringe benefits correctly are obviously expensive mistakes.
Utilization of owner-operators of vehicles or other equipment without maintaining adequate records and/or ensuring compliance with wage payment and fringe benefit standards also leads to SCA violation assertions. This is a common problem area for mail haul contractors.
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As an enforcement officer with DOL, Morris found that SCA violations were very common, even when the contractors were large national firms. One reason is that the responsibility for compliance is often assigned to managers or other employees without providing sufficient training.
Failure of subcontractors to comply often occurs when prime contractors do not fully apprise the subs of their obligations and how to meet them. It is important that prime contractors fully inform subcontractors of the SCA requirements, and the prime contractor should be alert to indications that subs are not complying with the labor standards.
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Payment of wage rates that are less than those specified in the wage determination causes back pay liabilities. A common reason for such underpayments is failure to correctly classify employees.
Expenses (job related) that are borne by employees, or improper deductions from wages, result in wages actually received by employees being less than the hourly requirements (again - a back wage liability exists).
Failure to pay for all hours of work (examples are travel time, waiting time, preparatory and concluding activities, and attendance at meetings or training sessions) is another practice that precipitates violation assertions.
Fringe benefit provisions of the Service Contract Act are entirely separate from the wage rate requirements. A contractor's failure to separately deal with fringe benefits (or cash in lieu of fringe benefits) is a common cause of back wage assertions by DOL.
Aside from the back wage obligations mentioned above, there are other repercussions of SCA compliance failures:
- SCA and/or CWHSSA violations can result in debarment action against the prime contractor and/or the subcontractor. Many SCA contractors are just one investigation away from being placed on a list of ineligible bidders (for three years). When debarment occurs, the contractor is entitled to a hearing before a DOL administrative law judge. Such an appeal is expensive and time consuming, but it might keep you off of the list of ineligibles. A better solution is to get into compliance and stay that way, so that this predicament will not be something that you will (hopefully) ever face.
- Under certain circumstances, such as fraudulent records or false evidence of back wages paid, the U. S. Department of Justice may file criminal charges against the offending contractor(s).
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Federal service contractors, subcontractors, staffing firms, and professional employer organizations will save time, money, and aggravation by obtaining appropriate guidance and advice from an expert. Morris possesses the experience and expertise to assist you in reviewing your SCA compliance practices, making corrections, and dealing with DOL.
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