FAR 22.1006—Solicitation provisions and contract clauses.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 22.1006 tells contracting officers which Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) provisions and clauses must be included in solicitations and contracts, and when certain SCLS-related clauses must be omitted because an exemption applies. It covers the core SCLS clause at 52.222-41, the Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires at 52.222-42, the price-adjustment clauses at 52.222-43 and 52.222-44, and the exemption certification/requirements clauses at 52.222-48, 52.222-51, 52.222-52, and 52.222-53, including the comparable provisions in FAR 52.204-8 and 52.212-3. In practice, this section is the roadmap for building the right labor-standards clause package based on contract type, dollar threshold, whether the SCLS statute applies, and whether the solicitation may qualify for an exemption. It also ensures that price adjustments for wage and fringe benefit changes are handled correctly when contracts span multiple years, options, or wage-determination updates. For contractors, this section matters because it determines whether wage determinations, labor-rate disclosures, exemption certifications, and price-adjustment rights and obligations will apply. For contracting officers, it is a compliance checkpoint: inserting the wrong clause, or failing to remove a clause when an exemption is properly established, can create pricing, administration, and enforcement problems later.
Key Rules
Insert SCLS clause when applicable
The contracting officer must include 52.222-41 in solicitations and contracts subject to the Service Contract Labor Standards statute when the contract is over $2,500, or when the amount is indefinite and the CO cannot know in advance that it will be $2,500 or less.
Do not insert SCLS clause for exempt contracts
If the solicitation includes the applicable exemption certification and the CO determines under 22.1003-4(c) or (d) that SCLS does not apply, the CO must not include 52.222-41 or the related SCLS clauses prescribed when 52.222-41 applies. Instead, the contract must include the corresponding requirements clause, 52.222-51 or 52.222-53, as prescribed.
Include equivalent rates statement
The CO must insert 52.222-42 when the contract is expected to exceed $2,500 and SCLS applies. This clause supports wage transparency by requiring a statement of equivalent rates for Federal hires.
Use the correct price-adjustment clause
For fixed-price, time-and-materials, or labor-hour service contracts with 52.222-41, the CO must use 52.222-43 for multiple-year contracts or contracts with options to renew exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, and 52.222-44 for similar contracts that are not multiple-year or option contracts. Either clause may also be used below the simplified acquisition threshold.
Adjust only for required wage changes
Price or unit-price labor-rate adjustments may reflect only the contractor’s actual increases or decreases in wages and fringe benefits needed to comply with the applicable wage determination or collective bargaining agreement. The clause does not authorize automatic pass-through of all labor cost changes.
Avoid duplicate or conflicting adjustment terms
The price-adjustment clauses in 22.1006(c) cover wage changes caused by law, wage-determination revisions, option exercises, or new program years in multiple-year contracts. If another clause under 16.203-4(d) is used, it must not conflict with or duplicate payment under these SCLS adjustment clauses.
Use exemption certification package correctly
When a contract may qualify for the maintenance/calibration/repair exemption or the certain services exemption, the solicitation must include the relevant certification provision, and if the exemption is established, the contract must include the matching requirements clause rather than the standard SCLS clause.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Determine whether the contract is subject to the Service Contract Labor Standards statute, identify the correct dollar threshold and contract type, insert the required SCLS clauses and provisions, omit them when a valid exemption applies, and ensure the correct price-adjustment clause is used without duplication or conflict.
Contractor
Review the solicitation for the applicable SCLS clauses, provide any required exemption certification, comply with wage and fringe benefit requirements when SCLS applies, and seek price adjustments only to the extent allowed by the applicable clause and supporting wage changes.
Agency
Support accurate acquisition planning and clause selection, including identifying whether the contemplated work may qualify for an SCLS exemption and ensuring solicitation templates and clause libraries reflect the correct prescriptions.
Wage determination / labor compliance function
Provide or support the applicable wage determination, collective bargaining agreement treatment, and labor compliance inputs needed for the CO to select the correct clause package and administer price adjustments properly.
Practical Implications
Clause selection is not mechanical; the CO must match the clause package to the contract’s dollar value, type, and SCLS applicability before award.
A common mistake is leaving 52.222-41 in a contract after an exemption has been properly established; FAR 22.1006 requires the exemption-specific requirements clause instead.
Another frequent pitfall is using the wrong price-adjustment clause for the contract structure, especially confusing multiple-year/option contracts with non-option contracts.
Contractors should not assume every wage increase is reimbursable; adjustments are limited to the actual increases or decreases needed to comply with the governing wage requirement.
If another contract clause already addresses labor-rate escalation, it must be checked carefully to avoid double payment or inconsistent adjustment formulas.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) (1) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.222-41 , Service Contract Labor Standards, in solicitations and contracts (except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section) if the contract is subject to the Service Contract Labor Standards statute and is- (i) Over $2,500; or (ii) For an indefinite dollar amount and the contracting officer does not know in advance that the contract amount will be $2,500 or less. (2) The contracting officer shall not insert the clause at 52.222-41 (or any of the associated Service Contract Labor Standards statute clauses as prescribed in this section for possible use when 52.222-41 applies) in the resultant contract if- (i) The solicitation includes the provision at- (A) 52.222-48 , Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards statute to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment-Certification; (B) 52.222-52 , Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards statute to Contracts for Certain Services-Certification; or (C) Either of the comparable certifications is checked as applicable in the provision at 52.204-8 (c)(2) or 52.212-3 (k); and (ii) The contracting officer has made the determination, in accordance with paragraphs (c)(3) or (d)(3) of subsection 22.1003-4 , that the Service Contract Labor Standards statute does not apply to the contract. (In such case, insert the clause at 52.222-51 , Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment-Requirements, or 52.222-53 , Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Certain Services-Requirements, in the contract, in accordance with the prescription at paragraph (e)(2)(ii) or (e)(4)(ii) of this subsection). (b) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.222-42 , Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires, in solicitations and contracts if the contract amount is expected to be over $2,500 and the Service Contract Labor Standards statute is applicable. (See 22.1016 .) (c) (1) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.222-43 , Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor Standards-Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option Contracts), or another clause which accomplishes the same purpose, in solicitations and contracts if the contract is expected to be a fixed-price, time-and-materials, or labor-hour service contract containing the clause at 52.222-41 , Service Contract Labor Standards, and is a multiple year contract or is a contract with options to renew which exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold. The clause may be used in contracts that do not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. The clause at 52.222-43 , Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor Standards-Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option Contracts), applies to both contracts subject to area prevailing wage determinations and contracts subject to the incumbent contractor’s collective bargaining agreement in effect during this contract’s preceding contract period (see 22.1002-2 and 22.1002-3 ). Contracting officers shall ensure that contract prices or contract unit price labor rates are adjusted only to the extent that a contractor’s increases or decreases in applicable wages and fringe benefits are made to comply with the requirements set forth in the clauses at 52.222-43 (subparagraphs(d)(1), (2) and (3)), or 52.222-44 (subparagraphs(b)(1) and (2)). (For example, the prior year wage determination required a minimum wage rate of $4.00 per hour. The contractor actually paid $4.10. The new wage determination increases the minimum rate to $4.50. The contractor increases the rate actually paid to $4.75 per hour. The allowable price adjustment is $.40 per hour.) (2) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.222-44 , Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor Standards-Price Adjustment, in solicitations and contracts if the contract is expected to be a fixed-price, time-and-materials, or labor-hour service contract containing the clause at 52.222-41 , Service Contract Labor Standards, exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold, and is not a multiple year contract or is not a contract with options to renew. The clause may be used in contracts that do not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. The clause at 52.222-44 , Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor Standards-Price Adjustment, applies to both contracts subject to area prevailing wage determinations and contracts subject to contractor collective bargaining agreements (see 22.1002-2 and 22.1002-3 ). (3) The clauses prescribed in paragraph 22.1006 (c)(1) cover situations in which revised minimum wage rates are applied to contracts by operation of law, or by revision of a wage determination in connection with (i) exercise of a contract option or (ii) extension of a multiple year contract into a new program year. If a clause prescribed in 16.203-4 (d) is used, it must not conflict with, or duplicate payment under, the clauses prescribed in this paragraph 22.1006 (c). (d) [Reserved] (e) (1) The contracting officer shall insert the provision at 52.222-48 , Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment-Certification, in solicitations that- (i) Include the clause at 52.222-41 , Service Contract Labor Standards; and (ii) The contract may be exempt from the Service Contract Labor Standards statute in accordance with 22.1003-4 (c). (2) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.222-51 , Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment-Requirements- (i) In solicitations that include the provision at 52.222-48 , or the comparable provision is checked as applicable in the clause at 52.204-8 (c)(2)(iii) or 52.212-3 (k)(1); and (ii) In resulting contracts in which the contracting officer has determined, in accordance with 22.1003-4 (c)(3), that the Service Contract Labor Standards statute does not apply. (3) (i) Except as provided in paragraph (e)(3)(ii) of this section, the contracting officer shall insert the provision at 52.222-52 , Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Certain Services--Certification, in solicitations that- (A) Include the clause at 52.222-41 , Service Contract Labor Standards, and (B) The contract may be exempt from the Service Contract Labor Standards statute in accordance with 22.1003-4 (d). (ii) When resoliciting in accordance with 22.1003-4 (d)(3)(iii), amend the solicitation by removing the provision at 52.222-52 from the solicitation. (4) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.222-53 , Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Certain Services-Requirements- (i) In solicitations that include the provision at 52.222-52 , or the comparable provision is checked as applicable in 52.204-8 (c)(2) or 52.212-3 (k)(2); and (ii) In resulting contracts in which the contracting officer has determined, in accordance with 22.1003-4 (d)(3), that the Service Contract Labor Standards statute does not apply. (f) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.222-49 , Service Contract Labor Standards-Place of Performance Unknown, if using the procedures prescribed in 22.1009-4 .