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Frequently Asked Questions What is the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA)? Does the Service Contract Act (SCA) apply to all government contract work? more ...

OVERVIEW

The McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) applies to every contract entered into by the United States or the District of Columbia, the principal purpose of which is to furnish services to the United States through the use of service employees. The SCA requires contractors and subcontractors performing services on covered federal or District of Columbia contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees in various classes no less than the monetary wage rates and to furnish fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality, or the rates (including prospective increases) contained in a predecessor contractor's collective bargaining agreement. Safety and health standards also apply to such contracts.

The compensation requirements of the SCA are enforced by the Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) within the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The SCA safety and health requirements are enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) within DOL.

COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE MATERIALS

BASIC INFORMATION

• Employment Law Guide - Prevailing Wages in Service Contracts - Describes the coverage and basic requirements of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA).
• Compliance Assistance - SCA Web Page - Provides information on the wage and benefit requirements of the SCA.
• SCA Compliance Assistance Memorandum 198 - May 2005 memorandum describing fringe benefit changes.
• Service Contract Act Directory of Occupations
• Service Contract Act FAQs
• How to Complete Standard Form 98 - The form used by federal contracting agencies requesting a wage determination.
• Filing a complaint - DOL's Wage and Hour Division manages complaints regarding violations of the various laws and regulations it administers. To file a complaint concerning one of these laws, contact your nearest Wage and Hour Division office or call the Department's Toll-Free Wage and Hour HelpLine at 1-866-4-US-WAGE.

FACT SHEETS

• Payment of Special Minimum Wages to Workers with Disabilities Who Are Employed on Federal Service Contracts Subject to the Service Contract Act

POSTERS

• Notice to Employees Working on Government Contracts
  (En Español - PDF)

RECORDKEEPING

Each contractor and subcontractor performing work subject to the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) shall maintain certain records for each employee performing work on the covered contract. The following is a list of the basic records that must be maintained for three years from completion of the work include:

• Name, address, and social security number of each employee;
• The correct work classification(s), wage rate(s), and fringe benefits provided (or cash equivalent payments provided in lieu of fringe benefits);
• The total daily and weekly compensation of each employee;
• The number of daily and weekly hours worked by each employee;
• Any deductions, rebates, or refunds from each employee's compensation; and
• Any list of a predecessor contractor's employees which had been furnished showing employees' length of service information.

See 29 CFR 4.6(g) and 29 CFR 4.185 for further information.

APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS

• McNamara O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) (PDF) - Requires payment of prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits to service employees employed on contracts to provide services to the federal government.
• 29 CFR Part 4 - Regulations describing the labor standards for federal service contracts.
• 29 CFR Part 6 - Regulations describing the Rules of Practice for administrative proceedings enforcing labor standards in federal and federally assisted construction contracts and federal service contracts.
• 29 CFR Part 8 - Regulations describing practice before the Administrative Review Board with regard to federal service contracts.

RELATED TOPICS AND LINKS

• Wage Determinations On-Line - This Web site provides a single location for federal contracting officers and the public to use in obtaining appropriate Service Contract Act (SCA) and Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) wage determinations (WDs) for each official contract action.
• DOL's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs - OFCCP administers the laws prohibiting discrimination in hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, or national origin by government contractors and subcontractors and federally assisted construction contracts and subcontracts. See also Compliance Assistance By Topic - Equal Employment Opportunity.
• Title I - Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act - This Act requires contractors and subcontractors with covered contracts to pay laborers and mechanics employed in the performance of the contracts one and one-half times their basic rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. See also Compliance Assistance By Law - The Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA).
• Employment Law Guide - Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay - The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments. See also Compliance Assistance By Law - The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
• See also Compliance Assistance By Topic - Wages and Hours Worked - Wages under Federal Contracts.

DOL CONTACTS*

• Employment Standards Administration (ESA)
  Wage and Hour Division
  200 Constitution Avenue, NW
  Room S-3502
  Washington, DC 20210
  Contact WHD
  Tel: 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243)
  TTY: 1-877-889-5627
  Local Offices

• For questions on other DOL laws,
  please call DOL's Toll-Free Help Line at 1-866-4-USA-DOL. Live assistance is available in English and Spanish, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Additional service is available in more than 140 languages through a translation service.
  Tel: 1-866-4-USA-DOL
  TTY: 1-877-889-5627

*Pursuant to the U.S. Department of Labor's Confidentiality Protocol for Compliance Assistance Inquiries, information provided by a telephone caller will be kept confidential within the bounds of the law. Compliance assistance inquiries will not trigger an inspection, audit, investigation, etc.