To carry a wage change inside a fixed bid price, start with the clause and its labor percentage, not with a rate you already have. Clause 52.222-30 is titled Construction Wage Rate Requirements-Price Adjustment (None or Separately Specified Method), dated Aug 2018, according to Acquisition.gov. The labor percentage itself is a blank on the Percentage Method clause, which the Contracting Officer fills in, and that clause says the Contracting Officer raises the labor portion by a published rate and makes the adjustment at each option exercise, according to Acquisition.gov.
Key takeaways
- the clause number, title and date belong in the bid file before any labor figure is carried forward.
- under the Percentage Method clause (52.222-31), the Contracting Officer inserts the labor percentage into a blank, so an estimator should not fill it in from memory.
- under the Percentage Method clause (52.222-31), the adjustment comes at each option exercise, so every option period belongs in the file.
- hour limits and minimum wage rules change over time, so record the effective date beside each one.
Where the wage adjustment clause sits
Search the solicitation for the number 52.222-30 and for the words Price Adjustment before you open any rate table. On the 52.222-30 page, the title is Construction Wage Rate Requirements-Price Adjustment (None or Separately Specified Method), according to Acquisition.gov. The 52.222-31 page carries the title Construction Wage Rate Requirements-Price Adjustment (Percentage Method), according to Acquisition.gov. The two titles name different methods, so one bid file cannot assume a single method for both.
The 52.222-31 wording refers to the labor portion of the contract price or contract unit price(s), according to Acquisition.gov. If your schedule prices work by unit, check the labor portion of each unit price as well as the contract total. Your estimating file should record which clause the solicitation names, along with the solicitation section where that clause appears. This article is editorial guidance, not legal advice, so confirm the clause text in the solicitation itself.
The table below sets each quoted source beside the text used from it.
Step 1: find the clause and its date
Copy the clause number, title and date exactly as the solicitation prints them, so your file matches the wording you are pricing against. The 52.222-30 entry carries the date Aug 2018, according to Acquisition.gov. A solicitation that shows a different date should be read closely before you carry any figure forward.
Keep a dated copy of the clause page in your bid file, so the version you priced against can be shown later. If the solicitation names the Percentage Method instead, the clause number is 52.222-31, and Steps two and three apply to that page. For a wider set of checks on wage provisions, read Public bid pricing: wage provisions to check.
Next, write the clause number and title on the first line of the bid worksheet, followed by the date, so every later figure sits under a visible reference. Put the solicitation section number beside that line as well, using the number the solicitation prints rather than one from memory. If the solicitation includes more than one wage clause, give each its own line with its own date, because the 52.222-30 and 52.222-31 titles name different methods.
If the solicitation prints no date beside the clause, record that gap in the file and ask the Contracting Officer which version applies. An open date is a question to close before the bid is submitted, not a date to fill in from the Acquisition.gov page.
Step 2: read the labor percentage
The labor share is left blank in the clause. Its wording, according to Acquisition.gov, reads: "(1) The Contracting Officer has determined that the portion of the contract price or contract unit price(s) containing labor costs subject to the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute is _ ___ [Contracting Officer insert percentage rate] percent."
The same page says, according to Acquisition.gov: "(2) The Contracting Officer will increase the portion of the contract price or contract unit price(s) containing the labor costs subject to the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute by the percentage rate published in _ ______ [Contracting Officer insert publication]."
Keep the labor portion and the publication name together on one line of the bid worksheet, so the rate source is never separated from the figure it changes. Write the publication name exactly as the solicitation prints it, including any year or version, so a later reader can locate the same publication. Sort your estimate lines into those that carry labor and those that carry materials or equipment, so the labor portion is the line marked for adjustment.
Leave the percentage blank in your estimate until the solicitation shows the Contracting Officer's figure. If the publication name is printed but the percentage is missing, note the missing figure as an open question for the Contracting Officer rather than entering an estimated number. Where the bid uses unit prices, mark the labor portion on each unit price line, since the quoted clause text covers the contract unit price(s). Carry the unrounded labor figure in the worksheet and round only the final bid amount, so the labor share can be traced back to its source. For the labor checks to run before costs lock, see Public bid labor: checks before you lock costs.
Step 3: check option-period adjustments
The adjustment is tied to the option exercise. The text, according to Acquisition.gov, reads: "(c) The Contracting Officer will make the price adjustment at the exercise of each option to extend the term of the contract." If the contract includes several option periods, each one is a separate exercise point under that text.
Lay out the option periods in the order the solicitation gives them, so each exercise date is easy to match to its labor figure. Beside each exercise date, write the publication name you recorded in Step 2. Record the term length of each option period as the solicitation prints it, next to the exercise point it leads to. If the option periods in the solicitation do not line up cleanly with the exercise points, note the gap as an open question to raise before the bid is submitted.
The 52.222-30 title says None or Separately Specified Method, so option-period timing for that clause should be read in its own text rather than assumed from the Percentage Method page. For each exercise point, compare the labor figure in the base period with the figure carried into the option, and note any difference with the exercise date beside it. Keep any written record of an option exercise in the same file, so the date you carry is the date on that record.
Illustrative example: one labor figure across options
Suppose a bid carries a labor portion of 50 percent in its base period and has 2 option periods. The figures are illustrative only. The file holds 3 rows: the base period, option 1 and option 2. Each row lists its exercise point, the publication name from Step 2 and the labor figure carried into it. If the labor figure changes at an option exercise, note the difference beside that row's exercise date, so the change can be traced to its source.
Step 4: check workweek hour limits
Hour limits can change from year to year. The hour limit for agricultural employees, according to Washington State Legislature, steps down from 55 hours beginning January 1, 2022, to 48 hours beginning January 1, 2023, and to 40 hours beginning January 1, 2024. The quoted rule keeps the same overtime structure in each year: one and one-half times the regular rate of pay applies to hours above the limit.
The quoted text covers agricultural employees. It is an example of an hour threshold that changes by year, so use it as a pattern to check, then read the hour rule that governs your own work. Enter each year's limit on its own row with its start date. Compare any hour limit you find with the hours your crew schedule shows for the same period, and note the weeks in which hours above the limit appear.
A workweek rule also appears in Maine. The Maine text, according to Maine Legislature, says an employer who elects to use the tip credit must inform the affected employee in advance, and must be able to show that the employee receives at least the minimum hourly wage when direct wages and the tip credit are combined within the established 7-day workweek. The Maine text covers the tip credit and the minimum hourly wage. Record the length of the workweek beside any hour limit you find, so the two can be checked together. If the solicitation defines the workweek in its own terms, record that definition next to the Maine phrase, since the quoted text uses the established 7-day workweek.
Step 5: note minimum wage increases
A minimum wage change is a separate item to record beside your labor figure. The Maine text, according to Maine Legislature, says that if the highest federal minimum wage is increased in excess of the minimum wage in effect under this section, the minimum wage under this section is increased to the same amount, effective on the same date as the increase in the federal minimum wage, and must be increased in accordance with this section thereafter.
Note the effective date of each federal increase in the bid file, because the quoted Maine text ties its change to that same date. Treat that rule as a check to make, not a result to assume. Keep the minimum wage notes in a separate column from the labor percentage, so a change to the floor is not confused with the Contracting Officer's figure. Record two items on each date they change: the Maine minimum wage in effect under this section, and the federal minimum wage figure, each with its date.
Compare the two figures on each date they change, and note whether the Maine figure has been raised to match. Put a dated reminder on each federal effective date, so the check runs before the price is locked. When you choose the rate itself, see Construction wage selection: checks for a bid rate.
Next step: open the solicitation, find the clause and write down the labor percentage and publication named.
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FAQ
What is clause 52.222-30?
It is the clause titled Construction Wage Rate Requirements-Price Adjustment (None or Separately Specified Method), dated Aug 2018, according to Acquisition.gov. Its title names a method different from the Percentage Method clause, so read its own text in the solicitation before carrying any figure.
Who sets the labor percentage?
The Contracting Officer does. According to Acquisition.gov, the Contracting Officer has determined the labor portion and inserts the percentage rate in the blank, so an estimator should not enter a figure of their own.
When is the price adjustment made?
Under the Percentage Method clause (52.222-31), the Contracting Officer makes the adjustment at the exercise of each option to extend the term of the contract, according to Acquisition.gov. Each option exercise date belongs in the bid file beside its labor figure.
Does a higher federal minimum wage change Maine's?
Under the quoted Maine text, yes. If the highest federal minimum wage is raised above the Maine minimum wage, the Maine figure moves up to match it, effective on the same date, according to Maine Legislature. Confirm how the rule applies to a federal project before relying on it.