U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS ADMINISTRATION
Wage and Hour Division
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20210
January 28, 1976
MEMORANDUM #122
TO: All the Government Contracting Agencies of Federal
Government and the District of Columbia
SUBJECT: Alignment of contracts to correspond to FY77 and
SF-98 submissions under the Service Contract Act
October 1, 1976 will mark the conversion of the federal fiscal
year from a July 1 to June 30 cycle to an October 1 through
September 30 period. Many contracts within the purview of the
Service Contract Act have been awarded for a period to coincide
with the fiscal year. It is anticipated that many of these
contracts will be extended by Procurement Agencies for short
periods, i.e., a 3-month period from July 1, 1976 through
September 30, 1976, in order to achieve alignment with FY77.
Contracting officers have started to ask questions about pro-
cedure for the filing of SF-98’s when such short-term exten-
sions are entered into and for subsequent options, bid solici-
tations, and/or negotiations for the follow-on contract. In
accordance with principles set forth in sections 4.143 through
4.145 of 29 CFR Part 4, many of these contract extensions will
be deemed to be new contracts under the Act and, as such, re-
quire the submission of an SF-98 under section 4.4 of 29 CFR
Part 4. Likewise, an SF-98 will be required for all options,
bid solicitations and/or negotiations for follow-on contracts
to start October 1, 1976. While a separate SF-98 submission
would ordinarily be required for each procurement action, a
single SF-98 covering both the extension and follow-on contract
would be appropriate, in most cases, provided that each pro-
posed procurement action, type of procurement action, i.e.,
option, competition, etc., and the timing thereof, is clearly
identified on the face of the SF-98 and/or in a separate
attachment thereto. This latter approach can avoid possible
confusion in the issuance of applicable wage determinations,
particularily in the case of predecessor contractors with
collective bargaining agreements, and simplify SF-98 submissions
during this transition period.
Ray J. Dolan
Assistant Administrator