# SCA wage determinations: how to price a janitorial or grounds bid

URL: https://us.falkview.com/guides/sca-wage-determinations/
Updated: 2026-11-04

> **How do I price a federal janitorial or grounds maintenance bid with an SCA wage determination?**
>
> A Service Contract Act wage determination is the Department of Labor schedule attached to a federal service solicitation. It sets the minimum hourly wage for each job and the fringe benefits you must provide. Price the bid by starting from those rates, then adding payroll taxes, insurance, supplies, overhead and profit.

## Key facts

- The Service Contract Act covers federal contracts over $2,500 whose main purpose is services performed by service employees in the United States.
- Wage determinations are issued by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division and published on SAM.gov.
- Janitor is occupation 11150 and Laborer, Grounds Maintenance is 11210 on a wage determination.
- Unless the wage determination says otherwise, health and welfare is due for every hour paid, up to 40 hours a week and 2,080 hours a year per employee.
- When an option year brings a new wage determination, FAR 52.222-43 lets the contract price be adjusted for the increase.

## What is an SCA wage determination?

It is the list of minimum wage rates and fringe benefits, by occupation and location, that a contractor must pay service employees on a federal service contract. The contracting officer attaches it to the solicitation and the contract.

There are two kinds. A standard wage determination covers an area, usually a group of counties, and is revised from time to time. A collective bargaining agreement (CBA) wage determination applies when the outgoing contractor's workers are under a union agreement: the next contractor must pay at least the wages and fringe benefits in that agreement.

## When does the Service Contract Act apply?

When a federal contract is over $2,500, its main purpose is to provide services, and those services are performed in the United States through service employees. Janitorial, grounds and most facilities support contracts meet all three.

- It applies to prime contracts and to subcontracts for the covered work.
- It does not apply to construction, which falls under the Davis-Bacon Act instead, or to state and local contracts paid with their own funds.
- Some states and cities have their own prevailing wage rules for building services. Check the solicitation.

## How do I find the wage determination for a solicitation?

Look in the solicitation's attachments or Section J. The wage determination is listed by number and revision. To see others for the same area, search SAM.gov's wage determinations by state and county.

1. Open the solicitation package and find the wage determination attachment, usually in Section J.
2. Note the number and the revision. Check on SAM.gov whether a newer revision has been published.
3. Confirm that the counties it covers match the place of performance.
4. If the incumbent's workers are unionized, look for a CBA wage determination instead of, or alongside, the standard one.

## How do I read a wage determination?

Find the occupation code and title for each job you will staff, read its hourly rate, then read the fringe benefit section that applies to all occupations: health and welfare, vacation and paid holidays.

- Occupation: map each job in your staffing plan to an occupation on the wage determination, such as 11150 Janitor or 11210 Laborer, Grounds Maintenance.
- Health and welfare: a dollar amount per hour, paid for every hour paid up to 40 a week and 2,080 a year, including paid leave.
- Vacation: paid weeks by length of service with the contractor or its predecessor, as the wage determination lists.
- Holidays: the paid holidays listed on the wage determination.
- Fringe benefits can be provided as benefits, as cash in lieu, or as a mix.
- If a job you need is not listed, the contractor must ask for it to be added through the conformance process (Standard Form 1444) before those employees start work.

## How do I turn the wage determination into a bid price?

Work out the hours the job needs, price each hour at the wage determination rate plus fringe benefits, add payroll taxes and insurance, then add supplies, overhead and profit.

Every bidder starts from the same wage determination, so it sets the floor rather than the winner. Bids are won on productivity, supervision, overhead and a believable staffing plan.

SCA price build-up, line by line:

| Line | How to calculate it |
| --- | --- |
| Productive hours | Area divided by production rate, times frequency. Example: 100,000 cleanable square feet at 3,000 square feet an hour is about 33.3 hours a night; at 5 nights a week that is about 8,667 hours a year. |
| Supervision and relief hours | Leads, a project manager, and cover for vacation, holidays and sick leave |
| Base wages | Hours times the wage determination rate for each occupation |
| Health and welfare | The wage determination's hourly rate times hours paid, capped at 40 a week and 2,080 a year per employee |
| Vacation and holidays | Paid hours off from the wage determination, priced at the employee's wage rate |
| Payroll taxes | FICA at 7.65% of wages, plus federal and state unemployment |
| Insurance | Workers' compensation for the cleaning or landscaping class code, and general liability |
| Supplies and equipment | Consumables, chemicals and equipment, unless the government furnishes them |
| Overhead, G&A and profit | Your own rates |

## What happens to wages in the option years?

When the government exercises an option, it usually attaches the current wage determination revision. If the required wages or fringe benefits rise, FAR 52.222-43 lets the contract price be adjusted for that increase.

- The adjustment covers the increase the new wage determination requires, plus the payroll taxes and insurance that rise with it.
- It does not cover raises you give voluntarily, or your other cost increases. Price those into the option years yourself.
- Keep payroll records that show the increase: the contracting officer can ask for them.

## Common SCA pricing mistakes

Most come from the wrong rate or missing hours: an old revision, the wrong county, the wrong occupation, or fringe benefits left off paid leave.

- Pricing from an old revision instead of the one in the solicitation or a newer one.
- Using the wrong county's wage determination for the place of performance.
- Mapping a job to a lower-paid occupation than the work really is.
- Leaving health and welfare off vacation and holiday hours.
- Missing a CBA wage determination when the incumbent's workers are unionized.
- Underpricing supervision and relief, which evaluators can flag as unrealistic.

## How Falkview helps

Falkview reads the wage determination attached to the solicitation and puts its labor categories into the price build-up. You set the production rates, burden, overhead and profit, and see the price before you write a word.

## Questions

### Is the health and welfare rate the same everywhere?

On standard wage determinations the Department of Labor sets one health and welfare rate and updates it periodically. Use the rate printed on the wage determination in your solicitation, not a figure from an old bid.

### What is the difference between the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon?

The Service Contract Act covers service contracts such as janitorial and grounds maintenance. The Davis-Bacon Act covers construction, alteration and repair of public buildings and works. Each has its own wage determinations.

### Can I pay health and welfare as cash?

Yes. You can meet the fringe benefit requirement with benefits such as health insurance, with an equivalent cash payment on top of the wage, or with a mix of the two.

### Where do I find the current SCA wage determinations?

On SAM.gov, under wage determinations. Search by state and county for standard ones, or by number for the one named in your solicitation.

### Does the Service Contract Act apply to state and local contracts?

No. It covers federal contracts. State and local contracts follow state and local law, and some states and cities have their own prevailing wage rules for building services.

## Sources

- [SAM.gov wage determinations](https://sam.gov/content/wage-determinations)
- [U.S. Department of Labor, Service Contract Act](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/government-contracts/service-contracts)
- [29 CFR part 4, labor standards for federal service contracts](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-A/part-4)
- [FAR 22.1002-1, Service Contract Labor Standards: general](https://www.acquisition.gov/far/22.1002-1)
- [FAR 22.1019, additional classes of service employees (SF 1444)](https://www.acquisition.gov/far/22.1019)
- [FAR 52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards](https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-41)
- [FAR 52.222-43, price adjustment for multiple year and option contracts](https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-43)

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