Federal Agencies to Issue Interim Rule Amending FAR to Implement Employee Notification Rights Under Executive Order 13496

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) will issue an interim rule (pdf) that adopts the Department of Labor’s final rule implementing Executive Order (EO) 13496: Notification of Employee Rights Under Federal Labor Laws. (pdf)  The DOL issued its final rule on this EO last May.  The EO at issue mandates that all government contracting departments and agencies include a provision in most government contracts stipulating that the contractor post a notice “in all places where notices to employees are customarily posted both physically and electronically,” informing them of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and revokes a Bush-era EO that had required federal contractors to post a notice (commonly known as “Beck” notices) to their employees informing them that they were not required to join or maintain membership in a labor union, and that those who were not union members – but were nonetheless required to pay dues or fees pursuant to a union security agreement – could object to paying a portion of those dues or fees to support activities that are not related to collective bargaining, contract administration or grievance adjustment.

The Councils’ interim rule essentially amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to reflect the DOL’s notification requirements. These changes include a new FAR subpart 22.16 and clause 52.222-40, Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act. The interim rule also revises FAR clauses at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—Commercial Items, and FAR 52.244-6, Subcontracts for Commercial Items, to include the requirements of the new FAR employee notification clause. These amendments to the FAR represent the formal notice to contracting officers to include the amended FAR clause in all solicitations and contracts, except those contracts that are under the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $150,000), subcontracts of $10,000 or less, or contracts/subcontracts that are for work performed exclusively outside of this country.

For more information on the requirements set forth in the DOL’s final rule, see Littler's ASAP: DOL Issues Final Rule on Notification by Federal Contractors of Employee Labor Law Rights by David Goldstein and Jay Sumner.

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