Bryce Curtis isn’t worried about the sustainability of his benefits brokerage. A partner at Williams Lloyd Employee Benefit Group in San Francisco since 2000, Curtis excels in the government contractor market. He has to – because it’s all he does. Developing a niche within the employee benefits space is a smart business decision in this age of uncertainty following health care reform. And with well over 225,000 government contractors across the United States, it’s a business opportunity open to pretty much anyone. Still don’t think it applies to you? Don’t be so sure. “In some cases [these contractors] are right under [a broker’s] own nose. They are existing clients of theirs that they aren’t performing these services for,” says Adam Bonsky, EVP, government markets, for TPA Fringe Benefit Group. So who are these existing and potential clients? There are two types of government-funded contracting projects on both the state and federal levels that are available for private companies to bid on the work: construction-oriented (infrastructure such as bridges, schools, computer systems) and service-oriented (landscapers, security guards, food service). Construction work is generally subject to the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931. Additionally, 32 states have their own “mini” Davis-Bacon regulations, Bonsky points out. Meanwhile, most federal service work falls under the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act of 1965.
Local government ordinances at the state level are known as living wage or responsible wage ordinances.
