[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 233 (Friday, December 4, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 75918-75920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30463]


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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; Small Entity Compliance Guide

AGENCY: 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 DOD, GSA, 
and NASA. 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 rules 
appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-85, which amends 
the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). An asterisk (*) next to a 
rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been 
prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding 
these rules by referring to FAC 2005-85, which precedes this document. 
These documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: December 4, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC 
2005-85 and the 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
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                  Item                               Subject                 FAR Case             Analyst
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* I....................................  Prohibition on Contracting With        2015-011  Davis.
                                          Corporations With Delinquent
                                          Taxes or a Felony Conviction
                                          (Interim).

[[Page 75919]]

 
* 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 for        2015-003  Loeb.
                                          Contractors.
VII....................................  Technical Amendment............
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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)

    This interim rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation 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)

    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 Federal Acquisition Regulation (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.

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

    This final rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (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.


[[Page 75920]]


    Dated: November 20, 2015.
William Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015-30463 Filed 12-3-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P