FAR 22.305—Contract clause.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 22.305 tells contracting officers when to include the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act overtime clause at 52.222-4, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards-Overtime Compensation. Its purpose is to ensure that covered contracts requiring laborers or mechanics include the overtime protections and related compliance obligations required by law, while avoiding unnecessary clause insertion where the statute does not apply. This section specifically addresses the clause’s use in solicitations and contracts, including basic ordering agreements, and sets out the main exceptions: contracts valued at or below $200,000, commercial products and commercial services, transportation or transmission of intelligence, work performed outside specified U.S. jurisdictions and the outer Continental Shelf, work governed solely by 41 U.S.C. chapter 65, supplies with only incidental services that do not require substantial laborer/mechanic effort, and exemptions issued by the Secretary of Labor. In practice, it is a threshold-and-exception rule: the contracting officer must first ask whether the contract may require laborers or mechanics, then determine whether any exclusion applies before inserting the clause. For contractors, the section signals when overtime compensation requirements may be part of the contract and when they are not. For agencies, it helps ensure consistent clause use and compliance with labor standards while avoiding over-application of the clause where the law does not require it.
Key Rules
Insert the overtime clause
Include FAR 52.222-4, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards-Overtime Compensation, in solicitations and contracts when the contract may require or involve the employment of laborers or mechanics. This applies to basic ordering agreements as well, for purposes of deciding whether the clause belongs in the instrument.
Dollar threshold exception
Do not include the clause in solicitations and contracts valued at or below $200,000. The clause is only required above that threshold when the laborer/mechanic condition is met and no other exception applies.
Commercial item exception
Do not include the clause in contracts for commercial products and commercial services. These acquisitions are excluded even if the work might otherwise involve laborers or mechanics.
Certain work and location exceptions
Exclude the clause for transportation or the transmission of intelligence, and for work performed outside the United States and the listed U.S. jurisdictions, including Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Johnston Island, Wake Island, and the outer Continental Shelf as defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
Chapter 65 work exception
Do not include the clause for work to be done solely in accordance with 41 U.S.C. chapter 65. This cross-reference points to the separate statutory labor standards framework in subpart 22.6.
Incidental services exception
Do not include the clause for supplies that include incidental services when those services do not require substantial employment of laborers or mechanics. The key question is whether the services are merely incidental and not labor-intensive enough to trigger the clause.
Secretary of Labor exemptions
Do not include the clause when exempt under regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor at 29 CFR 5.15. These regulatory exemptions can override the general inclusion rule.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Determine whether the solicitation or contract may require or involve laborers or mechanics, then decide whether any listed exception applies. If the clause is required, insert FAR 52.222-4 in the solicitation and contract, including basic ordering agreements where applicable.
Agency
Apply the FAR and Department of Labor exemption framework consistently, ensure acquisition planning accounts for labor standards coverage, and avoid inserting the clause where an exception clearly applies.
Contractor
Review the solicitation and contract to identify whether the overtime clause is included and, if so, comply with the overtime compensation requirements and related labor standards obligations that flow from the clause.
Department of Labor
Issue and administer exemptions under 29 CFR 5.15 that may remove certain acquisitions from the clause requirement.
Practical Implications
The first practical question is whether the work may involve laborers or mechanics; if not, the clause is generally unnecessary. If yes, the contracting officer must then test each exception before deciding to include it.
A common pitfall is overlooking the commercial products/commercial services exception or the $200,000 threshold and inserting the clause automatically.
Another frequent issue is misclassifying mixed acquisitions: supplies with only truly incidental services may be exempt, but if the services are substantial or labor-intensive, the clause may still be required.
Location matters. Work performed outside the listed U.S. jurisdictions and the outer Continental Shelf is excluded, so performance geography must be checked early in acquisition planning.
Because the clause affects overtime compensation obligations, contractors should confirm whether it appears in the solicitation and contract and price/manage labor accordingly; contracting officers should ensure the clause is not omitted when required or added when prohibited.
Official Regulatory Text
Insert the clause at 52.222-4 , Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards-Overtime Compensation, in solicitations and contracts (including, for this purpose, basic ordering agreements) when the contract may require or involve the employment of laborers or mechanics. However, do not include the clause in solicitations and contracts- (a) Valued at or below $200,000; (b) For commercial products and commercial services; (c) For transportation or the transmission of intelligence; (d) To be performed outside the United States, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Johnston Island, Wake Island, and the outer Continental Shelf as defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1331 ) (29 CFR5.15); (e) ) For work to be done solely in accordance with 41 U.S.C. chapter 65 , (see subpart 22.6 ); (f) For supplies that include incidental services that do not require substantial employment of laborers or mechanics; or (g) Exempt under regulations of the Secretary of Labor (29 CFR5.15).