The Service Contract Act (SCA) and the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA, now called the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute in the FAR) both set minimum wages on federal contracts. They do not overlap on the same work, but they can sit side by side in one contract. If your facility maintenance bid includes a repaint or a roof repair, you need to know which hours fall under which law before you build a rate.
1. Which law covers what
| SCA | Davis-Bacon |
|---|---|
| Covers | |
| Contracts whose principal purpose is to furnish services through service employees (FAR 22.1003-1) | Construction, alteration or repair, including painting and decorating, of public buildings or public works (FAR 22.403-1) |
| Threshold | |
| WD and fringe requirements on contracts over $2,500 (FAR 22.1002-1) | Contracts over $2,000 (FAR 22.403-1) |
| Workers | |
| Service employees | Laborers and mechanics at the site of the work |
| Contract clause | |
| FAR 52.222-41 | FAR 52.222-6 |
The SCA itself exempts construction contracts covered by Davis-Bacon. The point of that exemption is to avoid double coverage: construction work whose wages are set under Davis-Bacon is left to Davis-Bacon (29 CFR 4.116(a)).
2. Service contracts with some construction in them
This is where bidders get caught. In a contract that is mainly for services, Davis-Bacon applies to the construction part when both tests are met (29 CFR 4.116(c)(2), FAR 22.402(b)):
- Substantial. The contract has specific requirements for a substantial amount of construction, alteration or repair, above the Davis-Bacon threshold. "Substantial" is about the type and quantity of work, not its share of the contract value.
- Segregable. The construction is physically or functionally separate from the service work and can, as a practical matter, be done on its own.
Construction that is merely incidental to the services does not trigger Davis-Bacon (FAR 22.402(b)(2)). When both tests are met, the contract carries both clauses and both kinds of wage determination: the SCA WD for the service employees and a Davis-Bacon WD for the construction trades. Your price has to be built in two parts.
Painting is the classic trap: painting of public buildings is listed as construction work in FAR 22.402(a)(1)(iv). A janitorial and maintenance contract with a line item to repaint every stairwell may put those painter hours under Davis-Bacon.
3. Pricing differences that matter
| SCA | Davis-Bacon |
|---|---|
| Wage determination | |
| Occupation codes and rates, plus H&W, vacation and holidays for all classes | Craft classifications, each with a basic hourly rate and an hourly fringe amount |
| Fringe hours | |
| H&W on all hours paid, up to 40 a week and 2,080 a year (29 CFR 4.172) | Hourly fringe amount, paid into bona fide plans or in cash (40 U.S.C. 3141(2)(B)) |
| Vacation and holidays | |
| Separate WD lines, with service credit from predecessor contractors | No separate lines; any such benefit sits inside the fringe amount |
| Payroll reporting | |
| Keep records for 3 years (29 CFR 4.6(g)) | Submit weekly certified payrolls within 7 days of each pay date, e.g. on form WH-347 (FAR 22.406-6) |
| Option years | |
| New WD at each option or anniversary; price adjustment under FAR 52.222-43 | Current WD incorporated at each option exercise; the contract states the pricing method (FAR 22.404-12) |
Two of these change your numbers directly. First, the SCA leave lines mean an SCA worker costs you hours that are paid but not worked; Davis-Bacon has no equivalent line, because any leave benefit is already inside the hourly fringe amount. Second, the weekly certified payroll is real administrative time. If your team has never filed one, price the hours to do it.
For option years under Davis-Bacon, FAR 22.404-12(c) lets the contracting officer choose the method, for example separately priced option periods with no later adjustment. Read which one the solicitation uses. If option prices are fixed, your escalation assumption is your risk.
Worked example: one contract, two wage laws
A building services contract asks for daily custodial work by 5 full-time janitors and a separate line item to repaint all corridors once in the base year, estimated at 1,200 painter hours. Assume the contracting officer has found the painting substantial and segregable and attached a Davis-Bacon WD. The janitors are on WD 2015-5233 rev 35 ($14.74 plus $5.92 H&W, 5 × 2,080 = 10,400 hours). The painter rate of $24.00 plus $6.00 fringe is for illustration only; use the rate in your solicitation.
| Part | Math | $ / year |
|---|---|---|
| Custodial (SCA) | 10,400 hours × ($14.74 + $5.92) | 214,864.00 |
| Painting (DBA) | 1,200 hours × ($24.00 + $6.00) | 36,000.00 |
| Minimum wage and fringe cost | 250,864.00 |
The SCA line is per hour paid: the 5 janitors still take holidays and vacation, so you need relief hours on top to keep the building covered (see SCA vacation and holiday pay). The painting line is per hour of work on site. If you had priced the painters as SCA service employees, you would have used the wrong rate and skipped the weekly payroll work the Davis-Bacon clause requires.
If you are not sure which law applies to a line item, ask the contracting officer in the questions period. The agency decides coverage and attaches the WDs; you price what is attached.
Check the SCA side of your bid
Pick your state and county to see every occupation rate, H&W, vacation and holidays on the current SCA WD.
Open the free WD lookupPrice the service hours right.
SCA Bid Pricing Pro builds burdened SCA rates per position, a base + 4 option-year price and the FAR 52.222-43 adjustment after award.
Related guides
Sources
- Acquisition.gov: FAR 22.402, Applicability (construction wage rate requirements)
- Acquisition.gov: FAR 22.403-1, Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute
- Acquisition.gov: FAR 22.404-12, contracts with construction requirements and options
- Acquisition.gov: FAR 22.406-6, Payrolls and statements
- Acquisition.gov: FAR 22.1002-1, Service Contract Labor Standards, general
- Acquisition.gov: FAR 22.1003-1, Service Contract Labor Standards, applicability
- eCFR: 29 CFR part 4, sections 4.6, 4.116 and 4.172
Last reviewed: November 2026. This guide is a pricing aid and general information, not legal advice.