FAR 22.1008—Procedures for obtaining wage determinations.

Obtaining wage determinations.

FAR 22.1008-1 explains how contracting officers obtain the correct prevailing wage determination for service contracts under the Service Contract Labor Standards. It covers the primary sources for wage determinations, including the Wage Determinations at SAM.gov website and the Department of Labor’s e98 electronic request process, and explains when each must be used. It also addresses the need to allow enough time to gather the information needed to secure a wage determination, the contracting agency’s continuing responsibility for selecting the correct determination, and the extent to which the agency may rely on a Department of Labor response obtained through e98. In addition, it identifies the specific information the contracting officer must determine before requesting or selecting a wage determination: the service employee occupational classes, the locality of performance, whether 41 U.S.C. 6707(c) applies, and the wage rates that would apply if the employees were federal wage-board or General Schedule employees. Finally, it directs contracting officers to seek help from the agency labor advisor when they have questions about the process or the selection of the proper wage determination. In practice, this section is about getting the right wage determination early, documenting the basis for the selection, and avoiding procurement delays or labor compliance errors that can affect pricing, solicitation issuance, and contract administration.

Successorship with incumbent contractor collective bargaining agreement.

FAR 22.1008-2 explains how the Service Contract Labor Standards successor-contractor rules apply when an incumbent contractor’s employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). It tells the contracting officer to determine early in the acquisition cycle whether a predecessor contract exists, whether the incumbent prime contractor or subcontractors have a CBA, and whether 41 U.S.C. 6707(c) requires the successor to pay wages and fringe benefits at least equal to those in the predecessor’s agreement. The section also covers the conditions that trigger successor obligations, the limits on when a new or revised CBA will be effective for successor pricing, and the required coordination and documentation steps for obtaining and incorporating the CBA into the successor acquisition. It addresses special issues such as multiple work locations, partial CBA coverage, use of Wage Determinations at SAM.gov and the e98 process, and when the Department of Labor may find the statute inapplicable because the CBA is substantially at variance with local prevailing rates or was not reached through arm’s-length bargaining. In practice, this section is about preserving labor continuity, ensuring proper wage determination treatment, and preventing acquisition delays or pricing errors when a service contract is recompeted.