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Federal Market Intelligence for Small Business |
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USDA ramps up enforcement of contractor labor law complianceThe Agriculture Dept. is stepping up enforcement of its contractors’ compliance with labor and employment laws as part of its recent proposed overhaul of its acquisition rules. The USDA’s proposed rule, issued on Feb. 17, is a wide-ranging update of its procurement rules. Comments were due in March. However, attorneys now are calling attention to its far-reaching labor law provisions and warning that other agencies may follow USDA’s example. The USDA’s actions coincide with the Labor Dept.’s current efforts to enhance monitoring and audits of Service Contract Act, Affirmative Action and other wage, employment and non-discrimination laws and regulations (See Set-Aside Alert’s May 27, 2022 edition). The steps follow several years in which labor law violations were common in federal agencies, according to a Government Accountability Office report. For example, violations were found in 68% of the Service Contract Act cases investigated by DOL from 2014 to 2019, GAO said. These resulted in 60 contractor debarments and $224 million in back wages paid. Under the USDA’s proposal, contractors would be required to certify compliance with specified labor laws during the term of a USDA contract in order to do business with the agency. They would need to certify for themselves and also, to the best of their knowledge, on behalf of their suppliers and subcontractors. Vendors also would be required to disclose past violations of labor laws and to immediately notify the contracting officer of any current likely violations. The requirements would apply to USDA contracts over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, which currently is $250,000. Contractors could be held liable under the False Claims Act for inaccurate certifications. The USDA’s disclosure requirements are similar to President Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, which was blocked by a federal judge and canceled by President Trump, PilieroMazza attorneys wrote in a recent blog entry. “Based on this clause, even a single labor-law violation could result in a contractor’s exclusion from a USDA procurement, without a meaningful process through which the contractor can dispute the exclusions,” the attorneys wrote, adding that other agencies may do the same. The certification requirement is for compliance with these laws:
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