Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Training
    • Class Registration
    • On-demand Training
    • GTPAC COVID-19 Resource Page
    • Cybersecurity
    • Veterans Verification Video
    • GTPAC Community
    • Other Training Audio & Video
  • Useful Links
  • Team Directory
    • Albany Counselor
    • Atlanta Counselors
    • Augusta Counselor
    • Carrollton Counselor
    • Columbus Counselor
    • Gainesville Counselor
    • Savannah Counselor
    • Warner Robins Counselor
  • Directions
    • Atlanta – Training Facility
    • Atlanta – Office
    • Albany
    • Augusta
    • Carrollton
    • Columbus
    • Gainesville
    • Savannah
    • Warner Robins
  • COVID-19
  • New Client Application
  • Contact Us

Increase in 2017 Service Contract Act health & welfare rate; Lower rate for contracts covered by federal paid sick leave EO

July 31, 2017 By Andrew Smith

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released its annual memorandum with the rate increase for Service Contract Act (SCA) Health and Welfare (H&W) Fringe Benefits. The new rate of $4.41 per hour (up from the 2015-2016 rate of $4.27 per hour) is required in all government contract bids or other service contracts awarded on or after August 1, 2017.

A special rate of $1.91 per hour is set for Hawaii, which takes into account that state’s mandatory health insurance coverage. However, an employer may use this lower rate only if it actually makes contributions for employees under the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act.

DOL officials indicated earlier this year that the rates set for 2017 would account for contracts subject to Executive Order 13706, which applies to new contracts that result from solicitations issued on or after January 1, 2017, or that are awarded outside the solicitation process on or after that date. The EO requires covered contractors to provide employees up to 56 hours of paid leave sick leave annually.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/increase-in-2017-service-contract-act-87128/

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: DOL, Executive Order, fringe benefit, H&W, labor laws, labor rates, Service Contract Act, Service Contract Labor Standards

Labor Dept. resumes providing guidance on wage and hour laws

July 12, 2017 By Andrew Smith

The U.S. Department of Labor is reinstating the issuance of opinion letters.  The letters, issued by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, is one of its methods the department uses to provide guidance to covered employers and employees.

An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Wage and Hour Division of how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by an employer, employee or other entity requesting the opinion. The letters were a division practice for more than 70 years until being stopped and replaced by general guidance in 2010.

“Reinstating opinion letters will benefit employees and employers as they provide a means by which both can develop a clearer understanding of the Fair Labor Standards Act and other statutes,” says Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to helping employers and employees clearly understand their labor responsibilities so employers can concentrate on doing what they do best: growing their businesses and creating jobs.”

The division has established a webpage where the public can see if existing agency guidance already addresses their questions or submit a request for an opinion letter. The webpage explains what to include in the request, where to submit the request, and where to review existing guidance. The division will exercise discretion in determining which requests for opinion letters will be responded to, and the appropriate form of guidance to be issued.

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: Davis-Bacon Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, labor categories, Labor Dept., labor laws, Service Contract Act, Service Contract Labor Standards

The top 10 government contracting compliance headaches in 2017

April 10, 2017 By Andrew Smith

In the government contracting industry, compliance related issues tend to take place.  With administration and party changes, 2017 promises to offer additional complexities.

Confusion amongst government contracting professionals includes: compliance with the Service Contract Labor Standards, DoD source selection procedures and cybersecurity requirements. In addition to keeping your company in line and compliant with the expanding rights of government contractors, budget uncertainty, provisions of the NDAA and bid protests should also be addressed.  Although more compliance issues may arise, it is essential to give attention to the policies that influence government contracting.

See full article published in Contract Management magazine here: http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-top-10-government-contracting-13317/

Filed Under: Contracting Tips Tagged With: budget, compliance, contract administration, contract management, cybersecurity, NDAA, Service Contract Labor Standards, service contracts, source selection

Federal contractor paid sick leave regulations finalized

October 11, 2016 By Andrew Smith

paid-sick-leave-regulations-oct-2016The Labor Department’s Wage & Hour Division (WHD) has released final regulations implementing mandatory paid sick leave for employees working on federal service, construction, and concessions contracts.

The costs are likely to come both from the paid sick leave itself (a maximum of seven days per year) and from the layers of complexity on top of contractors’ existing compliance obligations with respect to these types of contracts.

The regulations overlap with WHD’s responsibility for oversight of the Service Contract Labor Standards (commonly known as the Service Contract Act, or SCA), which is already a complicated compliance undertaking for employers.

Keep reading this article to see a summary of the highlights of the final regulations and flag issues for contractors to consider before the regulations take effect in January 2017: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2016/10/paid-sick-leave-final-regulations-released/

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: DOL, federal contracting, federal contractors, federal contracts, Labor Dept., SCA, Service Contract Act, Service Contract Labor Standards, sick leave, subcontracting, Wage & Hour Division, wage rates, WHD

Recent Posts

  • Georgia Tech creates new Office of Corporate Engagement
  • Federal contractor indicted for stealing over $1.2 million from the U.S. Postal Service
  • SBA hosting “Contract Bonds and Surety Bond Guarantee” webinar April 20th
  • GSA hosting “Getting on the GSA Schedule” webinar April 13th
  • NIH hosting 2021 small business program conference April 26-30th

Popular Topics

8(a) abuse Army bid protest budget budget cuts certification construction contract awards contracting opportunities cybersecurity DoD DOJ False Claims Act FAR federal contracting federal contracts fraud GAO Georgia Tech government contracting government contract training government trends GSA GSA Schedule GTPAC HUBZone innovation IT Justice Dept. marketing NDAA OMB SBA SDVOSB set-aside small business small business goals spending subcontracting technology VA veteran owned business VOSB wosb

Contracting News

Federal contractor indicted for stealing over $1.2 million from the U.S. Postal Service

CMMC announces new advisory council to collect industry feedback

EEOC announces April 26 opening date for the collection of 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 component 1 data

Contractors line up to rebuild MARTA’s Five Points Station

GDOT announces $828.8 million in projects to transform Ga. 316

Read More

Contracting Tips

A whole new marketplace: GSA’s “commercial platforms” initiative

CRS Reports: Mentor-Protégé programs and small business size standards

CRS Report: Small businesses and COVID-19, relief and assistance resources

How do I find out what the government is buying?

Past performance isn’t always a required evaluation factor, says GAO

Read More

GTPAC News

SBA hosting “Contract Bonds and Surety Bond Guarantee” webinar April 20th

GSA hosting “Getting on the GSA Schedule” webinar April 13th

NIH hosting 2021 small business program conference April 26-30th

Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency hosting industry day and matchmaking May 6th and 20th

Missile Defense Agency hosting virtual conference May 11-13th

Read More

Georgia Tech News

Georgia Tech creates new Office of Corporate Engagement

Delta Jacket wins 2021 Georgia Tech InVenture prize

Future of 5G is under the microscope at Georgia incubator

Collective worm and robot “blobs” protect individuals, swarm together

The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation is now accepting applications for pilot programs

Read More

  • SAM.gov registration is free, and help with SAM is free, too
APTAC RSS Twitter GTPAC - 30th Year of Service

Copyright © 2021 · Georgia Tech - Enterprise Innovation Institute