Executive Order No. 14042. Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors

• Citation: 86 FR 50985
• Published date: 14 September 2021
• Pages: 50985-50988
• FR Document: 2021-19924
• Executive Order No.: 14042
• Date: 09 September 2021
• Issuer: Executive Office of the President
• Section: Presidential Documents

Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 175 (Tuesday, September 14, 2021)

[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
                [[Page 50986]]
                 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;
                [[Page 50987]]
                (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.
                [[Page 50988]]
                 (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