Department of Education Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase IB 2026: Pre-Solicitation

HEALTH & WELFARE: $5.55 per hour, up to 40 hours per week, or $222.00 per week or $962.00 per month HEALTH & WELFARE EO 13706: $5.09 per hour, up to 40 hours per week, or $203.60 per week, or $882.27 per month* *This rate is to be used only when compensating employees for performance on an SCA- covered contract also covered by EO 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors. A contractor may not receive credit toward its SCA obligations for any paid sick leave provided pursuant to EO 13706. | VACATION: 2 weeks paid vacation after 1 year of service with a contractor or successor, 3 weeks after 5 years, and 4 weeks after 15 years. Length of service includes the whole span of continuous service with the present contractor or successor, wherever employed, and with the predecessor contractors in the performance of similar work at the same Federal facility. (Reg. 29 CFR 4.173) | HOLIDAYS: A minimum of eleven paid holidays per year: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. (A contractor may substitute for any of the named holidays another day off with pay in accordance with a plan communicated to the employees involved.) (See 29 CFR 4.174) THE OCCUPATIONS WHICH HAVE NUMBERED FOOTNOTES IN PARENTHESES RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING: 1) COMPUTER EMPLOYEES: This wage determination does not apply to any individual employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as defined in 29 C.F.R. Part 541. (See 41 C.F.R. 6701(3)). Because most Computer Systems Analysts and Computer Programmers who are paid at least $27.63 per hour (or at least $684 per week if paid on a salary or fee basis) likely qualify as exempt computer professionals under 29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1) and 29 U.S.C. 213(a)(17), this wage determination may not include wage rates for all occupations within those job families. In such instances, a conformance will be necessary if there are nonexempt employees in these job families working on the contract. Job titles vary widely and change quickly in the computer industry, and are not determinative of whether an employee is an exempt computer professional. To be exempt, computer employees who satisfy the compensation requirements must also have a primary duty that consists of: (1) The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software or system functional specifications; (2) The design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications; (3) The design, documentation, testing, creation or modification of computer programs related to machine operating systems; or (4) A combination of the aforementioned duties, the performance of which requires the same level of skills. (29 C.F.R. 541.400). Any computer employee who meets the applicable compensation requirements and the above duties test qualifies as an exempt computer professional under both section 13(a)(1) and section 13(a)(17) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. (Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2006-3 (Dec. 14, 2006)). Accordingly, this wage determination will not apply to any exempt computer employee regardless of which of these two exemptions is utilized. 2) AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS AND WEATHER OBSERVERS - NIGHT PAY & SUNDAY PAY: If you work at night as part of a regular tour of duty, you will earn a night differential and receive an additional 10% of basic pay for any hours worked between 6pm and 6am. If you are a full-time employed (40 hours a week) and Sunday is part of your regularly scheduled workweek, you are paid at your rate of basic pay plus a Sunday premium of 25% of your basic rate for each hour of Sunday work which is not overtime (i.e. occasional work on Sunday outside the normal tour of duty is considered overtime work). ** HAZARDOUS PAY DIFFERENTIAL ** An 8 percent differential is applicable to employees employed in a position that represents a high degree of hazard when working with or in close proximity to ordnance, explosives, and incendiary materials. This includes work such as screening, blending, dying, mixing, and pressing of sensitive ordnance, explosives, and pyrotechnic compositions such as lead azide, black powder and photoflash powder. All dry-house activities involving propellants or explosives. Demilitarization, modification, renovation, demolition, and maintenance operations on sensitive ordnance, explosives and incendiary materials. All operations involving re-grading and cleaning of artillery ranges. A 4 percent differential is applicable to employees employed in a position that represents a low degree of hazard when working with, or in close proximity to ordnance, (or employees possibly adjacent to) explosives and incendiary materials which involves potential injury such as laceration of hands, face, or arms of the employee engaged in the operation, irritation of the skin, minor burns and the like; minimal damage to immediate or adjacent work area or equipment being used. All operations involving, unloading, storage, and hauling of ordnance, explosive, and incendiary ordnance material other than small arms ammunition. These differentials are only applicable to work that has been specifically designated by the agency for ordnance, explosives, and incendiary material differential pay. ** UNIFORM ALLOWANCE ** If employees are required to wear uniforms in the performance of this contract (either by the terms of the Government contract, by the employer, by the state or local law, etc.), the cost of furnishing such uniforms and maintaining (by laundering or dry cleaning) such uniforms is an expense that may not be borne by an employee where such cost reduces the hourly rate below that required by the wage determination. The Department of Labor will accept payment in accordance with the following standards as compliance: The contractor or subcontractor is required to furnish all employees with an adequate number of uniforms without cost or to reimburse employees for the actual cost of the uniforms. In addition, where uniform cleaning and maintenance is made the responsibility of the employee, all contractors and subcontractors subject to this wage determination shall (in the absence of a bona fide collective bargaining agreement providing for a different amount, or the furnishing of contrary affirmative proof as to the actual cost), reimburse all employees for such cleaning and maintenance at a rate of $3.35 per week (or $.67 cents per day). However, in those instances where the uniforms furnished are made of """"wash and wear"""" materials, may be routinely washed and dried with other personal garments, and do not require any special treatment such as dry cleaning, daily washing, or commercial laundering in order to meet the cleanliness or appearance standards set by the terms of the Government contract, by the contractor, by law, or by the nature of the work, there is no requirement that employees be reimbursed for uniform maintenance costs. ** SERVICE CONTRACT ACT DIRECTORY OF OCCUPATIONS ** The duties of employees under job titles listed are those described in the """"Service Contract Act Directory of Occupations"""", Fifth Edition (Revision 1), dated September 2015, unless otherwise indicated. ** REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL CLASSIFICATION AND WAGE RATE, Standard Form 1444 (SF-1444) ** Conformance Process: The contracting officer shall require that any class of service employee which is not listed herein and which is to be employed under the contract (i.e., the work to be performed is not performed by any classification listed in the wage determination), be classified by the contractor so as to provide a reasonable relationship (i.e., appropriate level of skill comparison) between such unlisted classifications and the classifications listed in the wage determination (See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2)(i)). Such conforming procedures shall be initiated by the contractor prior to the performance of contract work by such unlisted class(es) of employees (See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2)(ii)). The Wage and Hour Division shall make a final determination of conformed classification, wage rate, and/or fringe benefits which shall be paid to all employees performing in the classification from the first day of work on which contract work is performed by them in the classification. Failure to pay such unlisted employees the compensation agreed upon by the interested parties and/or fully determined by the Wage and Hour Division retroactive to the date such class of employees commenced contract work shall be a violation of the Act and this contract. (See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2)(v)). When multiple wage determinations are included in a contract, a separate SF-1444 should be prepared for each wage determination to which a class(es) is to be conformed. The process for preparing a conformance request is as follows: 1) When preparing the bid, the contractor identifies the need for a conformed occupation(s) and computes a proposed rate(s). 2) After contract award, the contractor prepares a written report listing in order the proposed classification title(s), a Federal grade equivalency (FGE) for each proposed classification(s), job description(s), and rationale for proposed wage rate(s), including information regarding the agreement or disagreement of the authorized representative of the employees involved, or where there is no authorized representative, the employees themselves. This report should be submitted to the contracting officer no later than 30 days after such unlisted class(es) of employees performs any contract work. 3) The contracting officer reviews the proposed action and promptly submits a report of the action, together with the agency's recommendations and pertinent information including the position of the contractor and the employees, to the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, for review (See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2)(ii)). 4) Within 30 days of receipt, the Wage and Hour Division approves, modifies, or disapproves the action via transmittal to the agency contracting officer, or notifies the contracting officer that additional time will be required to process the request. 5) The contracting officer transmits the Wage and Hour Division's decision to the contractor. 6) Each affected employee shall be furnished by the contractor with a written copy of such determination or it shall be posted as a part of the wage determination (See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2)(iii)). Information required by the Regulations must be submitted on SF-1444 or bond paper. When preparing a conformance request, the """"Service Contract Act Directory of Occupations"""" should be used to compare job definitions to ensure that duties requested are not performed by a classification already listed in the wage determination. Remember, it is not the job title, but the required tasks that determine whether a class is included in an established wage determination. Conformances may not be used to artificially split, combine, or subdivide classifications listed in the wage determination (See 29 CFR 4.152(c)(1)).