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Under the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) of 1965, all service workers in the United States and DC earn fair compensation for their work under federal service contractors. Enforced by the Department of Labor (DOL), the Service Contract Act (SCA) requires that service workers receive, at a minimum, the locally prevailing wage rate and fringe benefits. The DOL establishes wages and fringe benefits for the type of work performed. It then publishes wage determinations by state and county with overall minimum pay rates and fringes.

Understanding the SCA’s Key Requirements

Enforced Standards for Wages and Benefits

The contracting officer determines the applicability of the SCA to a particular contract, and the effective date of the agreement defines the applicable wage determination version. Fringe benefits under SCA include cash payouts for health and welfare of up to 40 hours per week and holiday and vacation pay (when earned) prorated using average working hours.

Headway’s SCA Compliance Solutions

Automated Systems for Accurate SCA Pay and Benefits

Headway created proprietary system processes and standard operating procedures to administer proper compensation and documentation rules under the Service Contract Act (SCA). Our staff appropriately notifies an employee if SCA applies to their current project, explains the SCA pay rate, and instructs the employee how to calculate benefits under the act. Headway’s payroll system completely automates the rules for eligibility and the calculation of the payment amount. Also, Headway automatically applies SCA rules and requirements to the standard payroll pay process.

Advanced Wage Determination System

Ensuring Compliance Nationwide

Each wage determination published by the DOL contains a list of counties, occupations, prevailing pay rates, and benefits. Headway created a consolidated list of zones that cover one or more wage determinations. Over 1,000 individual zones currently cover all locations in the United States. Headway has created and maintains a system database that contains all 1,000+ wage determinations provided by the DOL. Benefits required under SCA by location are also automatically calculated and added to the employee compensation by the system.

• Key Features of Headway’s SCA Compliance
• Proprietary system for tracking SCA Pay Rates & Benefits by Work Location
• All 3,242 US Counties mapped to SCA Zones
• Automatic calculations for Health & Welfare, Holiday, & Vacation pay
• Sick pay hours accrued weekly
• Multiple clients supported
• 83,000+ timecards processed under SCA