Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule today that fully implements the Wage Determinations OnLine (WDOL) Internet Web site atwww.wdol.gov. The new rule updates existing regulations to allow contracting agencies to request and obtain wage determinations through the online services provided by the Web site.

WDOL includes guidance for contracting agencies on how to select the appropriate wage determination for each contract action and provides access to the most current wage determinations and to databases that contain archived wage determinations under both the Service Contract Act (SCA) and the Davis Bacon Act (DBA.) A feature on the site alerts users to future revisions to particular wage determinations.

The WDOL does not affect how the Wage and Hour Division determines prevailing wages under either the SCA or the DBA.

“WDOL reflects the technological advances since 1990 and the wide use of electronic communication and information sharing,” said Alfred B. Robinson Jr., deputy administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. “The website replaces the paper SF-98 with an electronic ‘e98’ and enables contracting agencies alternatively to use the WDOL website to obtain wage determinations.”

Since 1965, the Service Contract Act implementing regulations have required a federal contracting agency to request SCA wage determinations for each contract. Form SF-98 was developed for this request and response process. Although there have not been any major changes to the SF-98 process since 1972, the labor department has worked with contracting agencies to develop better and more efficient mechanisms to obtain SCA wage determinations. With the advent and expansion of the Internet in the mid-1990s, several contracting agencies approached the Wage and Hour Division requesting the ability to access and download SCA wage determinations.

In May, the WDOL e-government project was honored as a finalist for one of the 2005 Intergovernmental Solutions Awards presented by the American Council for Technology.

The wage determinations on-line program can be found at http://www.wdol.gov/. The full text of the Final Rule can be found at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-16779.htm.

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