The Service Contract Act

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For those who perform services for the Government:

The applicable labor requirements - from wage rates and fringe benefits to health plans and overtime issues.
When they are applied.
How they are enforced.
Efficiently incorporating them into your contract activities.

Government contracting is tough enough without labor problems on your home ground. Even so, contractors who perform a wide range of services for the Government must comply with a sweeping range of special labor requirements. Chief among these labor requirements are those contained in the Service Contract Act provisions continually presenting contractors with a large number of difficult questions and problem areas, and ones that are being more aggressively reviewed and enforced by the Government than ever before, with increasingly severe penalties.

This special two-day program will teach you what the Service Contract Act's labor requirements are, when they are applicable, and how to efficiently incorporate them into your daily contracting activities. The special Course Curriculum has been designed to offer maximum benefits to personnel professionals, contract managers, legal counsel, project managers, and others who are involved with a contract's labor requirements. Further, the course offers practical guidance on your rights, options and remedies.

NOTE: A one day course on the Davis-Bacon Act precedes this class in the Washington, DC location. Please call for more information.

Included in the program are analyses of:

When the Act applies.
The Act's coverage; exemptions to the provisions.
Wage determination procedures; prevailing labor rate issues.
Determining prevailing fringe benefits.
Measuring health and safety benefits; compliance with the requirements; the problem of self?insured benefit plans.
Applications to subcontracts.
Special problems of off-site contracts.
Multi-year contracts and contracts with options.
The effect of change orders and wage escalations.
The Successor Contractor rule.
Debarment absent "unusual circumstances" rule.
Applicable overtime compensation laws.
Special overtime problems.
Interrelationship of the Service Contract Act with other labor laws.

Course Curriculum

Introduction to the Service Contract Act
1. Prevailing Wages and Labor Rates
2. Bona Fide Fringe Benefits
3. Administrative and Recordkeeping Requirements
4. Relationship to Other Federal and State Wage and Hour Laws
Exemptions
1. Executive
2. Administrative
3. Professional
4. Contracts Not "Primarily for Services"
5. Construction Contracts
6. Supply Contracts
7. "Remanufacturing" Contracts
8. Transportation, Communication, Direct Employment and Postal Station Contracts
9. ADP and High Technology Equipment Maintenance Contract
10. Office/Business Machines Repair Contracts
Coverage of The Act
1. Definition of Service Employees
2. Subcontractors
3. State and Municipal Employees
4. Indefinite Quantity Contracts
5. Part-Time Employees
6. Geographical Coverage
7. Mixed Supply and Service Contracts
Wage Determination (WD) Procedures
1. Contents of a WD
2. Requesting a WD
3. Conforming Wage Rates
4. WD Received Before Bid Opening
5. WD After Bid Opening
6. WD After Date for Receipt of Proposals
7. Multi-Region and Nationwide WDs
8. "Due Consideration" of Wage Board Rates
9. FAR Procedures Where Place of Performance Uncertain
10. Administrative Review by Wage and Hour Administrator
11. Review by Board of Service Contract Appeals
Determining Fringe Benefits
1. Types of Acceptable Fringes
2. Focus on Vacation Benefits
3. Hourly Health and Welfare Benefits
4. Average Health & Welfare Benefits
5. Self-Insurance Programs
Application of the Service Contract Act
1. Without a Contract Provision
2. Without a Wage Determination
3. Application and Preemption of State Wage and Hour Laws
Change Orders and Escalation
1. SCA Pricing of Adjustment Claims
2. ASBCA and Claims Court Interpretations
3. Effect of FLSA Increases in Minimum Wages
The Successor Contractor Rule
1. In General
2. Defining the Locality
3. "Successor Contractor" Defined
4. Benefits Covered
5. Exceptions
Monetary Penalties for Violation
1. Back Pay Liability
2. Withholding of Contract Funds
3. Judicial Review
4. Private Right of Action for Retaliatory Discharge
5. Priority of Unpaid Workers to Contract Funds
6. Statute of Limitations
7. Contract Cancellation
Three Year Debarment Penalty
1. "Unusual Circumstances" Defined
2. Debarment Procedures
3. Administrative and Judicial Review
4. "Substantial Interest" Defined
Overtime Compensation Issues
1. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for White Collar Workers
2. Contract Work Hours Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA) and Liquidated Damages for Blue Collar Workers
3. Determining Working Time
4. Calculating Regular Rate and Overtime
5. Half-Time
6. Belo Plans
7. Compensatory Time and Time Off
Special Overtime Problems
1. Wage Busting of Professional Employees-OMB Policy Letter 78-2
2. Uncompensated Overtime

Daniel B. Abrahams
Mr. Abrahams is a Partner in the Government Contracts and Wage and Hour Group of Brown Rudnick LLP.
Mr. Abrahams counsels clients in matters related to government contracts, wage and hour, and federal employee health care law. Mr. Abrahams represents clients in federal and state courts and in arbitrations, as well as before various boards of contract appeals. His experience includes collective and class actions, bid protests, contract claims, wage and hour audits, and compliance counseling.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Mr. Abrahams' reported wage & hour and government contracts cases include:

Matter of S4, Inc., Comp Gen. Dec. B-299817 (GAO 8/23/07)
Rome Research Corporation v. USA, case no. 1:06-cv-377 (Ct. Cl. 2007)
VT Griffin Services, Inc. v. Field Support Services, Inc., case no. AW-06-3387 (S.D. MD 2007)
Matter of James C. Trump, Comp. Gen. Dec. B-299370, (GAO 2/20/07)
Lear Siegler Services, Inc. v. Rumsfeld, 457 F.3d 1262 (Fed Cir. 2006)
Davis v. Lenox Hill Hosp., 204 WL 1926086 & 1926087 (S.D.N.Y. 2004)
FC Business Systems, Inc., Comp Gen Dec. B-278730, (GAO 3/6/98)
Custom Printing Company, Comp. Gen Dec. 275798.3 (GAO 7/9/97)
Digital Equipment Corp. v. GSA, GSBCA No. 12891 (GSBCA 7/28/94)
Communications Technology Applications, Inc., ASBCA No. 4173 (ASBCA 6/25/92)
Communications Technology Applications, Inc., GSBCA No. 10172-C and 9978-P (GSBCA 8/6/90)

PUBLICATIONS
Mr. Abrahams is co-author of six books: Government Contracts Compliance Guide; Public Official's Guide to e-Government; Fair Labor Standards Handbook for State, Local Governments and Schools; Employer's Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act; FLSA Employer Exemption Handbook; and Public Employer's Guide to Payroll Administration.

Co-author of Briefing Papers entitled The Service Contract Act and The Davis-Bacon Act.
Co-author of articles “Doing Business With the Federal Government” and “Doing Business With the State of Maryland” for the ABA's Complete Lawyer Magazine and the Maryland Bar Journal.
Co-author of Thompson’s HR Employment Forms, an on-line publication.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Former adjunct assistant professor at The George Washington University Law School, where he co-taught a course in the combined Labor/Government Contracts LLM Program entitled Federal Labor Standards.
Lectured widely on government contracts, construction and labor standards topics for private groups, Federal Publications Inc., the Educational Services Institute, and the George Washington University Government Contracts Program.
Co-taught seminars entitled The Labor Requirements of the Service Contract Act; The Davis-Bacon Act; The Fair Labor Standards Act; Calculating Loss of Efficiency Claims; and Contracting for Services.

BAR ADMISSIONS & MEMBERSHIPS
Admitted, District of Columbia and Maryland Bars
Admitted, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and US Court of Federal Claims
Admitted to various US District Courts and Court of Appeals pro hac
Member, American Bar Association, Labor and Employment and Government Contracts Sections; Co-Chairman, ABA Labor and Safety Subcommittee
Member, District of Columbia Bar Association
Member, Maryland Bar Association

Shlomo Katz
Mr. Katz is a member of the Government Contracts Group.

Mr. Katz practices in the areas of commercial and government procurement law and litigation, wage and hour law and construction law. Mr. Katz has significant experience in preparing, negotiating and litigating contract claims and bid protests, as well as advising clients on contract compliance, small business, subcontracting and data rights issues under government contracts. He has successfully litigated before federal, state and local courts and the Government Accountability Office and Boards of Contract Appeals.

In addition, Mr. Katz represents clients in connection with minimum wage, working time and overtime issues under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, Service Contract Act, Davis-Bacon Act and state wage payment and prevailing wage laws. This includes conducting proactive wage-hour audits for employers as well as litigation minimum wage, overtime and wage payment claims.

Accreditation

CLE Hours

This Program is eligible for:

8.25 (60 minute)

9.9 (50 minute)

CPE Hours

This Program is eligible for:

9.0 (CPE) hours of credit

Program Level: Basic

Program Prerequisite: None

Advance Preparation: None

Method: Group-Live