• Being a government contractor has always been complicated. As of recently, it seems that the government is almost determined to make it harder than ever. Over the past few years, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) has ramped up their enforcement efforts. They've been hiring more investigators to proactively audit contractors outside of the standard “complaint-initiated” method. --> Read More

• On Dec 14^th, the IRS released final rules shedding light on earlier ACA provisions (July 2016). However, it excludes updated language on the complex and controversial “opt-out arrangement” provision, leaving in place earlier guidance (Dec. 2015).

• Being a government contractor has always been complicated, but in the last few years, it seems as though the government is almost determined to make it harder than ever. There is no better evidence of this than the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new commitment to Service Contract Act compliance reporting.

• In recent years, as much as, 78% of contractors audited by the DOL were found to be non-compliant. It is no wonder that random audits (which almost never happened before) are now n
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• On 7/29/2016 the Department of Labor announced that they would not be raising the rate for Service Contract Act (SCA) Health and Welfare Fringe Benefits, keeping it at $4.27 per hour. A drastic departure from the previous two years 2013-2015 where the hourly fringe rate has climbed 12% (46 cents).

• Fringe Rate Fact: from 2007 to 2013, the average yearly fringe rate increase was 9 cents.

• To put it in perspective, the DOL has increased fringe rates every year for more than 20 years.
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• Any government contractor will tell you, there is no way to escape paying fringes. The best you can hope for is to get the most value you can for your dollar by maximizing your fringes. (more…)

• While every business needs to be aware of the changes in healthcare law because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), government contractors have a few additional challenges facing them in meeting ACA compliance. (more…)

• Government contracts without subcontractors would be like a rock band without a drummer. Not just because of the savings and ease they can provide a contractor, but because the government pretty much requires the use of them on contracts. (more…)

• When it comes to government contracting 'fringe rate' is a pretty simple and straightforward concept. However due to foggy enforcement over the years, there're more than a couple misconceptions surrounding fringe rate. (more…)

• If you look at a list of base rates for a contract, it seems simple enough. You classify a worker by their labor category/skill level, and then pay them the appropriate wage. But if you have been in government contracting before, very few thing are that simple- including base wages. (more…)

• Labor Categories seem like a simple enough idea. The contract defines all the different tasks to be performed on that job. (i.e) how much to pay a person per hour for completing a set task.

• But, ask anyone who does contract payroll and they'll tell you, it's not that straightforward. (more&helli
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• Pricing has never been easy for the person who bids contracts. Their educated guess can be the difference between a no profit or low-profit job. In some cases (bidding to high) might cost the job itself.  And lately, Government contracting has only been getting more difficult. (more…)

• If you looked at all the day-to-day aspects of your compliance management, would you feel confident saying, "I'd be okay if the Department of Labor (DOL) audited my business"? Would you bet the financial health of your business on it? (more…)

As if government contracting weren't complicated enough already, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) places additional pressure on contractors (cost increases and new compliance requirements) which ultimately affects their bottom lines. This Contractor's guide to ACA provides an overview of the new ACA laws along with insights on how these changes affect contractors. (more…)<

Through a number of new policies, government contracting is being run more like a “business” than ever before. Let's take a look at some of these legislative changes and how they’re impacting government contractors today. (more…)

by Paul Verdile, Senior Government Contracting Benefits and Compliance (SCA / DBA) Specialist at Axim Fringe Solutions Group Market Connections and Deltek/Centurion Research Solutions released a report (Oct. 2013) on the impact Lowest Price Technic

Last November, federal regulators issued a new regulation, IRS Reg 1.5000A-3(e), for amounts paid by employers to employees who opt-out of the employer’s health plan be treated as additional employee contributions under the affordability component of the ACA’s employer mandate rules. Specifically, the reg provides that amounts made available under a cafeteria plan are treated as employer contributions for affordability purposes only if the amounts

by Paul Verdile, Senior Government Contracting Benefits and Compliance (SCA / DBA) Specialist at Axim Fring A report (Oct. 2013) by Market Connections and Centurion Research Solutions titledThe New Reality: The impact of LPTA Procurements on Government Contracts and Solutions polled 375 government contractors and 360 civilian and defense decision-makers on Lowest Pri