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FAR 52.222-53 — Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Certain Services-Requirements

Contract clause · dated May 2014 · prescribed in FAR 22.100 · current through FAC 2026-01

In plain English

FAR 52.222-53, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Certain Services-Requirements, is a contract clause prescribed at FAR 22.100, most recently dated May 2014. The complete official text is reproduced below, verbatim, from GSA's published FAR source files.

Its own text directs the contractor to include it in certain subcontracts, subject to the conditions quoted in the flowdown section below.

Does it flow down to subcontracts?

Flows down conditionally — mandate with stated conditions

“(h) The Contractor shall include the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (h), in subcontracts for exempt services under this contract.”— FAR 52.222-53, paragraph (h), official text

Required in subcontracts by OTHER clauses

These clauses direct that FAR 52.222-53 be included in certain subcontracts:

“(e) (1) Notwithstanding the requirements of the clauses in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this clause, the Contractor is not required to flow down any FAR clause, other than those in this paragraph (e)(1), in a subcontract for commercial products or commercial services. … (xviii) 52.222-53, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Certain Services-Requirements (May 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67).”— FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—Commercial Products and Commercial Services

Where it's prescribed

As prescribed in 22.1006(e)(4), insert the following clause:

Prescribing reference: FAR 22.100.

The official text, verbatim

FAR 52.222-53 · May 2014 current through FAC 2026-01 acquisition.gov eCFR (48 CFR)

As prescribed in 22.1006(e)(4), insert the following clause:

Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Certain Services-Requirements (May 2014)

  • (a) The services under this contract are offered and sold regularly to non-Governmental customers, and are provided by the Contractor to the general public in substantial quantities in the course of normal business operations.

  • (b) The contract services are furnished at prices that are, or are based on, established catalog or market prices. An "established catalog price" is a price included in a catalog, price list, schedule, or other form that is regularly maintained by the manufacturer or the Contractor, is either published or otherwise available for inspection by customers, and states prices at which sales currently, or were last, made to a significant number of buyers constituting the general public. An "established market price" is a current price, established in the usual course of ordinary and usual trade between buyers and sellers free to bargain, which can be substantiated from sources independent of the manufacturer or Contractor.

  • (c) Each service employee who will perform the services under the contract will spend only a small portion of his or her time (a monthly average of less than 20 percent of the available hours on an annualized basis, or less than 20 percent of available hours during the contract period if the contract period is less than a month) servicing the Government contract.

  • (d) The Contractor uses the same compensation (wage and fringe benefits) plan for all service employees performing work under the contract as the Contractor uses for these employees and for equivalent employees servicing commercial customers.

  • (e)

    • (1) Except for services identified in FAR 22.1003-4(d)(1)(iv), the subcontractor for exempt services shall be selected for award based on other factors in addition to price or cost with the combination of other factors at least as important as price or cost; or

    • (2) A subcontract for exempt services shall be awarded on a sole source basis.

  • (f) The Contractor is responsible for compliance with all the conditions of this exemption by its subcontractors. The Contractor shall determine in advance, based on the nature of the subcontract requirements and knowledge of the practices of likely subcontractors, that all or nearly all likely subcontractors will meet the conditions in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this clause. If the services are currently being performed under a subcontract, the Contractor shall consider the practices of the existing subcontractor in making a determination regarding the conditions in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this clause. If the Contractor has reason to doubt the validity of the certification, the requirements of the Service Contract Labor Standards statute shall be included in the subcontract.

  • (g) If the Department of Labor determines that any conditions for exemption at paragraphs (a) through (e) of this clause have not been met, the exemption shall be deemed inapplicable, and the contract shall become subject to the Service Contract Labor Standards statute. In such case, the procedures in at 29 CFR 4.123(e)(2)(iii) and 29 CFR 4.5(c) will be followed.

  • (h) The Contractor shall include the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (h), in subcontracts for exempt services under this contract.

(End of clause)

The text above is reproduced from GSA's published FAR source files (GSA/GSA-Acquisition-FAR @ da52ccb (2026-03-30)), retrieved 2026-07-17. The official publication at acquisition.gov / eCFR controls if they differ.