[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]
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