Service Contract Act
Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 4
Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts

29 CFR 4.176 - Payment of fringe benefits to temporary and part-time employees.

(a) As set forth in Sec. 4.165(a)(2), the Act makes no distinction, with respect to its compensation provisions, between temporary, part-time, and full-time employees. Accordingly, in the absence of express limitations, the provisions of an applicable fringe benefit determination apply to all temporary and part-time service employees engaged in covered work. However, in general, such temporary and part-time employees are only entitled to an amount of the fringe benefits specified in an applicable determination which is proportionate to the amount of time spent in covered work. The application of these principles may be illustrated by the following examples:

(1) Assuming the paid vacation for full-time employees is one week of 40 hours, a part-time employee working a regularly scheduled workweek of 16 hours is entitled to 16 hours of paid vacation time or its equivalent each year, if all other qualifications are met.

(2) In the case of holidays, a part-time employee working a regularly scheduled workweek of 16 hours would be entitled to two-fifths of the holiday pay due full-time employees. It is immaterial whether or not the holiday falls on a normal workday of the part-time employee. Except as provided in Sec. 4.174(b), a temporary or casual employee hired during a holiday week, but after the holiday, would be due no holiday benefits for that week.

(3) Holiday or vacation pay obligations to temporary and part-time
employees working an irregular schedule of hours may be discharged by
paying such employees a proportion of the holiday or vacation benefits
due full-time employees based on the number of hours each such employee
worked in the workweek prior to the workweek in which the holiday occurs
or, with respect to vacations, the number of hours which the employee
worked in the year preceding the employee's anniversary date of
employment. For example:

(i) An employee works 10 hours during the week preceding July 4, a
designated holiday. The employee is entitled to 10/40 of the holiday pay
to which a full-time employee is entitled (i.e., 10/40 times 8=2 hours
holiday pay).

(ii) A part-time employee works 520 hours during the 12 months
preceding the employee's anniversary date. Since the typical number of
nonovertime hours in a year of work is 2,080, if a full-time employee
would be entitled to one week (40 hours) paid vacation under the
applicable fringe benefit determination, then the part-time employee
would be entitled to 520/2,080 times 40=10 hours paid vacation.


(4) A part-time employee working a regularly scheduled workweek of
20 hours would be entitled to one-half of the health and welfare and/or
pension benefits specified in the applicable fringe benefit
determination. Thus, if the determination requires $36.40 per month for
health insurance, the contractor could discharge his obligation towards
the employee in question by providing a health insurance policy costing
$18.20 per month.

(b) A contractor's obligation to furnish the specified fringe
benefits to temporary and part-time employees may be discharged by
furnishing equivalent benefits, cash equivalents, or a combination
thereof in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth in
Sec. 4.177.