[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 14, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 50985-50988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19924]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 14, 2021 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 50985]]
Executive Order 14042 of September 9, 2021
Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for
Federal Contractors
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including the Federal Property and
Administrative Services Act, 40 U.S.C. 101 et seq., and
section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and in
order to promote economy and efficiency in procurement
by contracting with sources that provide adequate
COVID-19 safeguards for their workforce, it is hereby
ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. This order promotes economy and
efficiency in Federal procurement by ensuring that the
parties that contract with the Federal Government
provide adequate COVID-19 safeguards to their workers
performing on or in connection with a Federal
Government contract or contract-like instrument as
described in section 5(a) of this order. These
safeguards will decrease the spread of COVID-19, which
will decrease worker absence, reduce labor costs, and
improve the efficiency of contractors and
subcontractors at sites where they are performing work
for the Federal Government. Accordingly, ensuring that
Federal contractors and subcontractors are adequately
protected from COVID-19 will bolster economy and
efficiency in Federal procurement.
Sec. 2. Providing for Adequate COVID-19 Safety
Protocols for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors.
(a) Executive departments and agencies, including
independent establishments subject to the Federal
Property and Administrative Services Act, 40 U.S.C.
102(4)(A) (agencies), shall, to the extent permitted by
law, ensure that contracts and contract-like
instruments (as described in section 5(a) of this
order) include a clause that the contractor and any
subcontractors (at any tier) shall incorporate into
lower-tier subcontracts. This clause shall specify that
the contractor or subcontractor shall, for the duration
of the contract, comply with all guidance for
contractor or subcontractor workplace locations
published by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force
(Task Force Guidance or Guidance), provided that the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget
(Director) approves the Task Force Guidance and
determines that the Guidance, if adhered to by
contractors or subcontractors, will promote economy and
efficiency in Federal contracting. This clause shall
apply to any workplace locations (as specified by the
Task Force Guidance) in which an individual is working
on or in connection with a Federal Government contract
or contract-like instrument (as described in section
5(a) of this order).
(b) By September 24, 2021, the Safer Federal
Workforce Task Force (Task Force) shall, as part of its
issuance of Task Force Guidance, provide definitions of
relevant terms for contractors and subcontractors,
explanations of protocols required of contractors and
subcontractors to comply with workplace safety
guidance, and any exceptions to Task Force Guidance
that apply to contractor and subcontractor workplace
locations and individuals in those locations working on
or in connection with a Federal Government contract or
contract-like instrument (as described in section 5(a)
of this order).
(c) Prior to the Task Force publishing new Guidance
related to COVID-19 for contractor or subcontractor
workplace locations, including the Guidance developed
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the
Director shall, as an exercise of the delegation of my
authority under the Federal Property
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and Administrative Services Act, see 3 U.S.C. 301,
determine whether such Guidance will promote economy
and efficiency in Federal contracting if adhered to by
Government contractors and subcontractors. Upon an
affirmative determination by the Director, the
Director's approval of the Guidance, and subsequent
issuance of such Guidance by the Task Force,
contractors and subcontractors working on or in
connection with a Federal Government contract or
contract-like instrument (as described in section 5(a)
of this order), shall adhere to the requirements of the
newly published Guidance, in accordance with the clause
described in subsection (a) of this section. The
Director shall publish such determination in the
Federal Register.
(d) Nothing in this order shall excuse
noncompliance with any applicable State law or
municipal ordinance establishing more protective safety
protocols than those established under this order or
with any more protective Federal law, regulation, or
agency instructions for contractor or subcontractor
employees working at a Federal building or a federally
controlled workplace.
(e) For purposes of this order, the term ``contract
or contract-like instrument'' shall have the meaning
set forth in the Department of Labor's proposed rule,
``Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal
Contractors,'' 86 FR 38816, 38887 (July 22, 2021). If
the Department of Labor issues a final rule relating to
that proposed rule, that term shall have the meaning
set forth in that final rule.
Sec. 3. Regulations and Implementation. (a) The Federal
Acquisition Regulatory Council, to the extent permitted
by law, shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation
to provide for inclusion in Federal procurement
solicitations and contracts subject to this order the
clause described in section 2(a) of this order, and
shall, by October 8, 2021, take initial steps to
implement appropriate policy direction to acquisition
offices for use of the clause by recommending that
agencies exercise their authority under subpart 1.4 of
the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
(b) By October 8, 2021, agencies shall take steps,
to the extent permitted by law, to exercise any
applicable authority to ensure that contracts and
contract-like instruments as described in section 5(a)
of this order that are not subject to the Federal
Acquisition Regulation and that are entered into on or
after October 15, 2021, consistent with the effective
date of such agency action, include the clause
described in section 2(a) of this order.
Sec. 4. Severability. If any provision of this order,
or the application of any provision of this order to
any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the
remainder of this order and its application to any
other person or circumstance shall not be affected
thereby.
Sec. 5. Applicability. (a) This order shall apply to
any new contract; new contract-like instrument; new
solicitation for a contract or contract-like
instrument; extension or renewal of an existing
contract or contract-like instrument; and exercise of
an option on an existing contract or contract-like
instrument, if:
(i) it is a procurement contract or contract-like instrument for services,
construction, or a leasehold interest in real property;
(ii) it is a contract or contract-like instrument for services covered by
the Service Contract Act, 41 U.S.C. 6701 et seq.;
(iii) it is a contract or contract-like instrument for concessions,
including any concessions contract excluded by Department of Labor
regulations at 29 CFR 4.133(b); or
(iv) it is a contract or contract-like instrument entered into with the
Federal Government in connection with Federal property or lands and related
to offering services for Federal employees, their dependents, or the
general public;
(b) This order shall not apply to:
(i) grants;
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(ii) contracts, contract-like instruments, or agreements with Indian Tribes
under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (Public
Law 93-638), as amended;
(iii) contracts or subcontracts whose value is equal to or less than the
simplified acquisition threshold, as that term is defined in section 2.101
of the Federal Acquisition Regulation;
(iv) employees who perform work outside the United States or its outlying
areas, as those terms are defined in section 2.101 of the Federal
Acquisition Regulation; or
(v) subcontracts solely for the provision of products.
Sec. 6. Effective Date. (a) Except as provided in
subsection (b) of this section, this order is effective
immediately and shall apply to new contracts; new
contract-like instruments; new solicitations for
contracts or contract-like instruments; extensions or
renewals of existing contracts or contract-like
instruments; and exercises of options on existing
contracts or contract-like instruments, as described in
section 5(a) of this order, where the relevant contract
or contract-like instrument will be entered into, the
relevant contract or contract-like instrument will be
extended or renewed, or the relevant option will be
exercised, on or after:
(i) October 15, 2021, consistent with the effective date for the action
taken by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council pursuant to section
3(a) of this order; or
(ii) for contracts and contract-like instruments that are not subject to
the Federal Acquisition Regulation and where an agency action is taken
pursuant to section 3(b) of this order, October 15, 2021, consistent with
the effective date for such action.
(b) As an exception to subsection (a) of this
section, where agencies have issued a solicitation
before the effective date for the relevant action taken
pursuant to section 3 of this order and entered into a
new contract or contract-like instrument resulting from
such solicitation within 30 days of such effective
date, such agencies are strongly encouraged to ensure
that the safety protocols specified in section 2 of
this order are applied in the new contract or contract-
like instrument. But if that contract or contract-like
instrument term is subsequently extended or renewed, or
an option is subsequently exercised under that contract
or contract-like instrument, the safety protocols
specified in section 2 of this order shall apply to
that extension, renewal, or option.
(c) For all existing contracts and contract-like
instruments, solicitations issued between the date of
this order and the effective dates set forth in this
section, and contracts and contract-like instruments
entered into between the date of this order and the
effective dates set forth in this section, agencies are
strongly encouraged, to the extent permitted by law, to
ensure that the safety protocols required under those
contracts and contract-like instruments are consistent
with the requirements specified in section 2 of this
order.
Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
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(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
September 9, 2021.
[FR Doc. 2021-19924
Filed 9-13-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P