[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 233 (Friday, December 4, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 75902-75903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30455]



[[Page 75901]]

Vol. 80

Friday,

No. 233

December 4, 2015

Part II





Department of Defense

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration





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48 CFR Chapter 1





Federal Acquisition Regulations; Rules

  Federal Register / Vol. 80 , No. 233 / Friday, December 4, 2015 / 
Rules and Regulations  

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket No. FAR 2015-0051, Sequence No. 5]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2005-85; Introduction

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

ACTION: Summary presentation of interim and final rules.

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SUMMARY: This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and 
the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal 
Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-85. A companion document, the Small 
Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including 
the SECG, is available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: For effective dates see the separate documents, which follow.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The analyst whose name appears in the 
table below in relation to the FAR case. Please cite FAC 2005-85 and 
the specific FAR case number. For information pertaining to status or 
publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at 202-501-
4755.

                                           Rules Listed in FAC 2005-85
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Item                             Subject                FAR Case               Analyst
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I....................................  Prohibition on Contracting           2015-011  Davis.
                                        with Corporations with
                                        Delinquent Taxes or a Felony
                                        Conviction (Interim).
II...................................  Further Amendments to Equal          2015-013  Loeb.
                                        Employment Opportunity.
III..................................  Updating Federal Contractor          2015-036  Loeb.
                                        Reporting of Veterans'
                                        Employment (Interim).
IV...................................  Pilot Program for Enhancement        2013-015  Davis.
                                        of Contractor Employee
                                        Whistleblower Protections.
V....................................  Retention Periods............        2015-009  Glover.
VI...................................  Establishing a Minimum Wage          2015-003  Loeb.
                                        for Contractors.
VII..................................  Technical Amendment..........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the 
actual revisions and/or amendments made by these rules, refer to the 
specific item numbers and subjects set forth in the documents following 
these item summaries. FAC 2005-85 amends the FAR as follows:

Item I--Prohibition on Contracting With Corporations With Delinquent 
Taxes or a Felony Conviction (FAR Case 2015-011) (Interim)

    This interim rule amends the FAR to implement sections of the 
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, to 
prohibit the Federal Government from entering into a contract with any 
corporation having a delinquent Federal tax liability or a felony 
conviction under any Federal law, unless an agency has considered 
suspension or debarment of the corporation and has made a determination 
that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of 
the Government.
    This interim rule has no significant impact on the Government and 
contractors, including small business entities.

Item II--Further Amendments to Equal Employment Opportunity (FAR Case 
2015-013)

    DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule adopting an interim 
rule published April 10, 2015, without change. The interim rule amended 
the FAR to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13672, entitled ``Further 
Amendments to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in 
the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment 
Opportunity''. E.O. 13672 was signed July 21, 2014.
    E.O. 11246, dated September 24, 1965, established requirements for 
non-discriminatory practices in hiring and employment for Federal 
contractors and subcontractors. The bases of discrimination prohibited 
by E.O. 11246 are race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. E.O. 
13672 adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the prohibited 
bases of discrimination established by E.O. 11246. There is no 
significant impact on small entities.

Item III--Updating Federal Contractor Reporting of Veterans' Employment 
(FAR Case 2015-036) (Interim)

    DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing an interim rule amending the FAR to 
implement a final rule issued by the Department of Labor's Veterans' 
Employment and Training Service (VETS) that revised the regulations at 
41 CFR part 61 implementing the reporting requirements under the 
Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act, as amended (VEVRAA) 
and the Jobs for Veterans Act (JVA) (Pub. L. 107-288). VEVRAA requires 
Federal contractors and subcontractors to annually report on the total 
number of their employees who belong to the categories of veterans 
protected under VEVRAA, as amended by the JVA, and the total number of 
those protected veterans who were hired during the period covered by 
the report. The VETS rule requires contractors and subcontractors to 
comply with its revised reporting requirements using the new Form VETS-
4212, in lieu of the VETS-100 and VETS-100A, beginning with the annual 
report filed in 2015.
    There is no significant impact on small entities imposed by the FAR 
rule.

Item IV--Pilot Program for Enhancement of Contractor Employee 
Whistleblower Protections (FAR Case 2013-015)

    This final rule amends the FAR to implement a statutory pilot 
program enhancing whistleblower protections for contractor employees at 
FAR subpart 3.9. An interim rule was published September 30, 2013. The 
interim rule created a new FAR section 3.908 to be used by title 41 
agencies through January 1, 2017.
    The four-year pilot program is mandated by section 828, entitled 
``Pilot Program for Enhancement of Contractor Employee Whistleblower 
Protections,'' of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 
Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 (Pub. L. 112-239, enacted January 2, 2013).
    This rule has no significant impact on small business concerns.

[[Page 75903]]

Item V--Retention Periods (FAR Case 2015-009)

    This final rule amends the FAR by updating the Government file 
retention periods to conform with the retention periods in the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) General Records Schedule 
(GRS). Language is also added to instruct agencies that require a 
shorter retention period for certain records to request approval from 
NARA through the agency's record officer. This rule change does not 
place any new requirements on small entities; the only change is the 
timeframe for retention by the Government of Government records.

Item VI--Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors (FAR Case 2015-
003)

    DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule adopting the interim 
rule published December 15, 2014, with change. The interim rule amended 
the FAR to implement Executive Order 13658 and a Department of Labor 
final rule issued on October 7, 2014, both entitled ``Establishing a 
Minimum Wage for Contractors,'' which established a new minimum wage 
for covered service and construction contracts of $10.10 per hour, as 
of January 1, 2015. The Executive Order minimum wage will be adjusted 
annually, by the Department of Labor. Contracting officers will include 
a clause in covered contracts and will adjust contract prices for the 
annual adjustments in the Executive Order minimum wage. Contractors 
shall consider any subcontractor request, including requests by small 
businesses subcontractors, for a subcontract price adjustment due to 
the annual adjustment in the Executive Order minimum wage.
    There is no significant impact on small entities imposed by the FAR 
rule.

Item VII--Technical Amendment

    Editorial change is made at FAR 1.106.

    Dated: November 20, 2015.
William Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.

    Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-85 is issued under the 
authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General 
Services, and the Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration.
    Unless otherwise specified, all Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR) and other directive material contained in FAC 2005-85 is 
effective December 4, 2015 except for item I and III which are 
effective February 26, 2016, and item V which is effective January 4, 
2016.

    Dated: November 23, 2015.
Claire M. Grady,
Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy.
    Dated: November 24, 2015.
Jeffrey A. Koses,
Senior Procurement Executive/Deputy CAO, Office of Acquisition Policy, 
U.S. General Services Administration.
    Dated: November 20, 2015.
William P. McNally,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Procurement, National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-30455 Filed 12-3-15; 8:45 am]
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