The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on February 17, 2022, seeking to update its contract acquisition requirements. Within the proposed rulemaking, the USDA included two requirements that contractors certify compliance with various labor and employment laws during the term of the proposed acquisition, as well as disclose certain adjudicated labor and employment law violations.

The labor and employment laws and Executive Orders subject to the certification requirement are:

• The Fair Labor Standards Act
• The Occupational Safety and Health Act
• The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act
• The National Labor Relations Act
• The Davis-Bacon Act
• The Service Contract Act
• Executive Order 11246 (Equal Employment Opportunity)
• Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• The Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act
• The Family and Medical Leave Act
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
• Executive Order 13658 of February 12, 2014 (Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors)
• Equivalent State laws, as defined by the Secretary of Labor in guidance
• Executive Order 13627 (Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts)

The proposed regulations would require the USDA to include two clauses in every supply and service acquisition — including construction — above the simplified acquisition...

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