Department of Labor Issues New Health & Welfare Fringe Benefits Rates for Contracts Covered by the Service Contract Act
Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.08.17
On July 25, 2017, the Department of Labor issued its annual memorandum increasing the health and welfare fringe benefits rate (H&W rate) for contracts covered by the Service Contract Act from $4.27 per hour to $4.41 per hour, with corresponding increases from $1.78 per hour to $1.91 per hour for Hawaii. In a new measure, the DOL set the H&W rate for contracts covered by Executive Order 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors, at $4.13 per hour ($ 1.63 per hour in Hawaii) to account for the additional paid sick leave benefits covered contractors must provide under E.O. 13706. These new H&W rates must be included in all bids or other service contracts awarded after August 1, 2017, but the rates do not automatically apply to existing contracts until contracting agencies modify the contracts with an updated wage determination.
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Client Alert | 5 min read | 12.12.25
Eleventh Circuit Hears Argument on False Claims Act Qui Tam Constitutionality
On the morning of December 12, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit heard argument in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, et al., No. 24-13581 (11th Cir. 2025). This case concerns the constitutionality of the False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam provisions and a groundbreaking September 2024 opinion in which the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the FCA’s qui tam provisions were unconstitutional under Article II. See United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Fla. Med. Assocs., LLC, 751 F. Supp. 3d 1293 (M.D. Fla. 2024). That decision, penned by District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, was the first success story for a legal theory that has been gaining steam ever since Justices Thomas, Barrett, and Kavanaugh indicated they would be willing to consider arguments about the constitutionality of the qui tam provisions in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., 599 U.S. 419 (2023). In her opinion, Judge Mizelle held (1) qui tam relators are officers of the U.S. who must be appointed under the Appointments Clause; and (2) historical practice treating qui tam and similar relators as less than “officers” for constitutional purposes was not enough to save the qui tam provisions from the fundamental Article II infirmity the court identified. That ruling was appealed and, after full briefing, including by the government and a bevy of amici, the litigants stepped up to the plate this morning for oral argument.
Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.11.25
Director Squires Revamps the Workings of the U.S. Patent Office
Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.10.25
Creativity You Can Use: CJEU Clarifies Copyright for Applied Art
Client Alert | 4 min read | 12.10.25
Federal Court Strikes Down Interior Order Suspending Wind Energy Development
