[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 221 (Friday, November 14, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67705-67706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26905]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket FAR 2008-0003, Sequence 4]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2005-29; Small Entity Compliance Guide

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration 
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Small Entity Compliance Guide.

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SUMMARY: This document is issued under the joint authority of the 
Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the 
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with 
Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 
of 1996. It consists of a summary of the

[[Page 67706]]

rule appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-29 which 
amends the FAR. An asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a 
regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared. Interested parties 
may obtain further information regarding this rule by referring to FAC 
2005-29 which precedes this document. These documents are also 
available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurieann Duarte, Regulatory 
Secretariat, (202) 501-4225. For clarification of content, contact the 
analyst whose name appears in the table below.

                                           Rule Listed in FAC 2005-29
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                Item                           Subject               FAR case                 Analyst
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* I................................  Employment Eligibility             2007-013  Murphy.
                                      Verification.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A summary of the FAR rule follows. For the 
actual revisions and/or amendments to this FAR case, refer to FAR Case 
2007-013.
    FAC 2005-29 amends the FAR as specified below:

Item I--Employment Eligibility Verification (FAR Case 2007-013)

    This final rule implements Executive Order 12989, as amended June 
6, 2008, and the selection of the Secretary for Homeland Security of 
the E-Verify system as the electronic system to be used for certain 
contractors and subcontractors as the means of verifying that certain 
of their employees are eligible to work in the United States. This 
final rule inserts a clause into Federal contracts that are above the 
simplified acquisition threshold and have a performance period of at 
least 120 days, committing Government contractors to use the U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services' E-Verify system to verify that 
all of the contractors' new hires, and all employees (existing and new) 
directly performing work under Federal contracts, are authorized to 
work in the United States.
    Exemptions include contracts that are for commercially available 
off-the-shelf (COTS) items and items that would be COTS items but for 
minor modifications. The final rule requires prime contractors to 
include the clause in subcontracts over $3,000 for services or for 
construction.
    In exceptional circumstances, a head of the contracting activity, 
without power of redelegation, is authorized to waive the requirement 
to include the clause.
    In response to public comments, the final rule significantly 
extends the timelines for registering, beginning to use the system for 
new and existing employees, and using the program to initiate 
verification of new hires.
    Applicability to certain entities was limited in the following 
ways:
     Institutions of higher education need only verify 
employees assigned to a covered Federal contract.
     State and local governments and Federally Recognized 
Indian Tribes need only verify employees assigned to a covered Federal 
contract.
     Sureties performing under a takeover agreement entered 
into with a Federal agency pursuant to a performance bond need only 
verify employees assigned to the covered Federal contract.
    In addition, the final rule exempts from verification requirements 
(a) employees who hold an active security clearance of confidential, 
secret, or top secret and (b) employees for whom background 
investigations have been completed and credentials issued pursuant to 
Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12. Contractors 
concerned with costs associated with identifying and separating 
existing employees assigned to a Federal contract, for the purpose of 
E-Verify, are provided the option of verifying all employees of the 
contractor, including any existing employees not currently assigned to 
a Government contract.

    Dated: November 6, 2008.
Al Matera,
Director, Office of Acquisition Policy.
[FR Doc. E8-26905 Filed 11-13-08; 8:45 am]
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