Introduction to SCA Wage Determinations U.S. Department of Labor

Introduction to SCA Wage Determinations U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Basic Statutory Requirement Sections 2(a)(1) and (2) of SCA provide that covered contracts in excess of 2,500 contain a wage determination 2(a)(1) – Wages 2(a)(2) – Fringe Benefits U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Applying Wage Determinations (29 C.F.R. §§ 4.143 – 4.145) Agencies must obtain new WD at least once every two years New WD may be required each year if: Contract subject to annual appropriations Annual contract option being exercised Most contract extensions, even if shorter than one year, require a new WD U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Obtaining an SCA WD (29 C.F.R. § 4.4) Regulations no longer require Agencies to submit Standard Form (SF-98) or an Electronic (e) 98 Agencies have option to download WD directly from website, or submitting an e98 to DOL, at http://www.wdol.gov Other approaches no longer utilized include the Blanket WD program, MOUs with agencies, and paper Standard Form (SF) 98 and 98a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Two Types of Wage Determinations Prevailing – includes union dominance wage determinations 4(c) – based on the previous contractor’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

SCA Prevailing Wage Determinations U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

SCA Prevailing WDs Principles WDs must be based on data WDs must reflect a consistent wage and salary structure U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Determining “Prevailing” Wage (29 C.F.R. § 4.51(b)) Majority paid same rate (rare) (e.g., union dominance) If no majority, then measure of central tendency – Median (midpoint in distribution) Mean (weighted average) U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Determining “Prevailing” Wage (29 C.F.R. §§ 4.51(c)-(d)) (cont’d.) Regulations also authorize “slotting” to determine rate for occupation Insufficient survey data Based on similarity of duties and skills of occupations with sufficient data Due Consideration U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Basis for Prevailing WDs The best available data – usually Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) surveys. WDs may also be based on: Non-appropriated Fund (NAF) surveys Wage Board surveys and rates GS locality pay schedules U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

BLS Surveys National Compensation Survey (NCS) Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

NCS Surveys large metropolitan areas Sample surveys of smaller/non-metro areas Data collected primarily on-site Data may be aggregated within occupational groups based on federal white collar locality pay comparability U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

OES Surveys every metropolitan and non- metropolitan area in US Mail survey conducted by State Employment Services under BLS’ direction Samples 400,000 establishments annually for a three-year total of 1.2 million establishments U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

OES (cont’d) OES sample much larger than NCS and publishes results for more occupations Does not level workers within an occupation Data are used for ETA’s Foreign Labor Certification programs U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

How are BLS Data Used for SCA WDs? NCS is the primary data source OES is used to supplement NCS, or is primary data source for those areas not surveyed by NCS U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Importance of Salary Structure for SCA Surveys produce estimates with resulting anomalies in the data Wage increases are capped at 10% annually SCA wage rates are retained when the survey data below current SCA WD rate U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Locality Basis of WDs Locality has an elastic and variable meaning under SCA Most WDs are based on data for a MSA or group of MSAs CMSA vs. PMSA data Regionwide and Nationwide WDs U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Consolidated (Standard) Prevailing SCA WDs 2005-2000 or 2005-3000 WD numbers Wage rates for approximately 400 occupations grouped by several broad occupational categories Based primarily on BLS cross-industry survey data Occupations are defined in the SCA Directory of Occupations U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

SCA Directory of Occupations Contains standard position descriptions for most SCA occupations listed on prevailing WDs Contains Federal Grade equivalencies If WD occupation is not listed in the Directory, the position description may be included on WD U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Non-Standard Prevailing WDs Usually based on different data sources Data sources may be industry specific Often cover broader geographic areas May or may not cover occupations listed in SCA Directory of Occupations U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Examples of Non-Standard WDs Union Dominance Food & Lodging Forest Firefighting Elevator Maintenance Halfway House Nursing Home Maritime Moving & Storage Fast Food Forestry U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division Mail hauling Debt Collection Barber & Beautician Diving services

Fringe Benefits (on most prevailing SCA WDs) Health & Welfare (H&W) Benefits: 1996 Rulemaking -- Variance to permit nationwide benefits Updated every June 1 Based on: - BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - Use data for all workers in Private Industry U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Fringe Benefits (cont’d.) H&W rate is the total Of all benefits not legally required, Except vacation & holiday H&W rate - two different methods of compliance “Fixed cost” per employee “Average cost” (Discussed in Compliance Principles session) U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Other Fringe Benefits (on most prevailing SCA WDs) Vacation pay Holiday pay U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Clarifying Common Misconceptions About SCA WDs Federal agencies must obtain SCA WD or request (by e98) for any contract in excess of 2,500 WHD issue SCA WD for any contract that may involve more than five service employees For contracts with fewer than five service employees, WHD has the option of issuing a WD U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Review and Reconsideration of SCA WDs Must be timely submitted Prior to the Opening of Bids for an IFB No later than 10 days before - Commencement of a negotiated contract - Exercise of contract option, or - Extension Administrator within 30 days will render decision or notify that more time is needed U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Review and Reconsideration of SCA WDs Must provide supporting data: Current survey of contract location and contested occupation Based on statistical sample of population Identification of who conducted survey and statistical methods utilized Administrator ruling may be appealed to ARB U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Administrative Review Board Independent review body to which any final ruling of the Administrator or decision of an ALJ may be appealed Decision of the ARB is final administrative action Title 29 C.F.R. Part 8 provides timeframes and procedures for ARB appeals U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

SCA Section 4(c) Wage Determinations U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Section 4(c) WDS Incumbent CBA Part of 1972 Amendments to SCA Statutory requirement Does not depend on issuance of WD Short-form WD should be issued Based on incumbent CBA Includes accrued, as well as prospective, wages and fringe benefits A contractor may be its own successor U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Application The CBA must be applicable to work performed on the predecessor contract in order to have application to the successor contract The successor contract must be for substantially the same services being provided in the same contract locations U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Provisions Successor contractor must pay CBA rates whether or not employees are hired whether or not signatory to CBA Obligations of Section 4(c) are self-executing Interpretation of CBA is based on intent of parties signatory to CBA U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Limitations of Section 4(c) Section 4(c) does not extend to other CBA provisions such as: Seniority Grievance procedures Work rules Overtime U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Limitation on Self-Executing Application of 4(c) Applies if contracting officer (CO) provides contractor and union with written notice of key procurement dates: IFB – CBA must be received by CO not less than 10 days before bid opening RFP – CBA must be received before award if start is within 30 days, or RFP – Not less than10 days before start if award is beyond 30 days U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Exception to the Application of Section 4(c) Requirement Successor contractor is statutorily obligated to pay the CBA rates until such time as the CBA is determined to be: “Substantially at variance” with locally prevailing rates (29 C.F.R. § 4.10), or Not reached as a result of “arm’s-length” negotiations (29 C.F.R. § 4.11) U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Wage Determinations On-Line (WDOL) http://www.wdol.gov (An E-Government Initiative) U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

WDOL.GOV Created by an inter-agency task force including DOL, DOD, OMB, GSA, DOE, and the National Technical Information Systems The purpose was two-fold: To meet the Presidential initiative for e-government To enhance the public’s ability to obtain WDs U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

WDOL.GOV Provides access to: SCA Wage Determinations (WDs) Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) Wage Decisions Archived SCA and DBA WDs U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

WDOL.GOV (cont’d.) 5 Edition of the Service Contract Directory of Occupations e98 Agency Labor Advisors DOL and FAR regulation cites Users guide AAMs th U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

WDOL.GOV (cont’d.) The system is menu driven Reduces WD processing time Ensures consistent application of labor standards Provides an “alert” service to notify users of the latest update U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Obtain SCA WDs on WDOL.gov On WDOL homepage click on “Selecting SCA Wage Determinations” Respond to each logic question Two “Standard” prevailing WDs for each locality Odd-Numbered WD Even-Numbered WD U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Obtain SCA WDs (cont’d.) “Non-Standard” prevailing WDs WDOL selection process will prompt user Menu will provide a drop-down listing 20 specific service industries If no WD available on WDOL, the CO must use the “e98” system U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Monitoring SCA Wage Determinations Effective WDs are: WDs received timely by agency Required to be included into contracts Published in WDOL (date at top of WD) each Tuesday Issued by DOL (date found next to WD#) “Published” date and “Issued” date are different to reflect time needed to process U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Alert Service Contracting officer and public may select to be notified of revisions to SCA WDs Specific contract action “Standard” WDs “Non-Standard” WDs E-mail notification for period of time or date U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Archived SCA Wage Determinations Current WDs are published and accessible Prior revisions to WDS are maintained in the “Archived SCA WD” database Archived WD Number must be known May not be used without DOL approval U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

SCA Conformance Procedures SCA Regulations 29 C.F.R. § 4.6(b)(2) U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Conformance (Adding Missing Class of Work to WD) Work not performed by a class on WD Proposed rate must bear a reasonable relationship to those listed on WD: No single formula Look at comparable classes on WD No specific analytical process to determine conformable rate U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Conformance (cont’d.) Conformances may not be used to: Artificially subdivide classes listed in WD Combine two or more classes listed in WD to create a new class Establish a job level lower than lowest level listed in WD for a job classification family (Computer Operator I through V) Establish helper and trainee classes U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Conformance (cont’d.) Contractor prepares conformance request (SF 1444) or other format: Proposes class of worker and job description Proposes hourly rate and rationale Submits to contracting agency no later than 30 days after employee performance Request form (SF 1444) on WDOL.gov U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Conformance (cont’d.) Contracting agency reviews request Makes recommendation Submits to DOL for final action DOL should respond within 30 days U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Updating Conformed Rates (29 C.F.R. § 4.6(b)(iv)(B)) Two methods may be used: Submit a new conformance request, or “Indexing:” Calculate overall percent change between rates in previous and new WD for classes used on contract Overall percent change is applied to conformed rate to obtain an updated rate Contracting agency must be advised, not DOL U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

EXAMPLE OF INDEXING WD Rev. 8 WD Rev. 9 Secretary I Accting Clk I % 10.00 10.80 10.50 10.71 2 8 10/2 5% Previously conformed class: Account Collector 12.50 5% New indexed rate of 13.13 U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Disclaimer This presentation is intended as general information only and does not carry the force of legal opinion. The Department of Labor is providing this information as a public service. This information and related materials are presented to give the public access to information on Department of Labor programs. You should be aware that, while we try to keep the information timely and accurate, there will often be a delay between official publications of the materials and the modification of these pages. Therefore, we make no express or implied guarantees. The Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Department of Labor. We will make every effort to keep this information current and to correct errors brought to our attention. U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division