[Federal Register: November 14, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 221)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 67705-67706]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14no08-31]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Chapter 1
[Docket FAR 2008-0003, Sequence 4]
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular
2005-29; Small Entity Compliance Guide
AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Small Entity Compliance Guide.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document is issued under the joint authority of the
Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with
Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
of 1996. It consists of a summary of the
[[Page 67706]]
rule appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-29 which
amends the FAR. An asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a
regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared. Interested parties
may obtain further information regarding this rule by referring to FAC
2005-29 which precedes this document. These documents are also
available via the Internet at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurieann Duarte, Regulatory
Secretariat, (202) 501-4225. For clarification of content, contact the
analyst whose name appears in the table below.
Rule Listed in FAC 2005-29
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Subject FAR case Analyst
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* I................................ Employment Eligibility 2007-013 Murphy.
Verification.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A summary of the FAR rule follows. For the
actual revisions and/or amendments to this FAR case, refer to FAR Case
2007-013.
FAC 2005-29 amends the FAR as specified below:
Item I--Employment Eligibility Verification (FAR Case 2007-013)
This final rule implements Executive Order 12989, as amended June
6, 2008, and the selection of the Secretary for Homeland Security of
the E-Verify system as the electronic system to be used for certain
contractors and subcontractors as the means of verifying that certain
of their employees are eligible to work in the United States. This
final rule inserts a clause into Federal contracts that are above the
simplified acquisition threshold and have a performance period of at
least 120 days, committing Government contractors to use the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services' E-Verify system to verify that
all of the contractors' new hires, and all employees (existing and new)
directly performing work under Federal contracts, are authorized to
work in the United States.
Exemptions include contracts that are for commercially available
off-the-shelf (COTS) items and items that would be COTS items but for
minor modifications. The final rule requires prime contractors to
include the clause in subcontracts over $3,000 for services or for
construction.
In exceptional circumstances, a head of the contracting activity,
without power of redelegation, is authorized to waive the requirement
to include the clause.
In response to public comments, the final rule significantly
extends the timelines for registering, beginning to use the system for
new and existing employees, and using the program to initiate
verification of new hires.
Applicability to certain entities was limited in the following
ways:
Institutions of higher education need only verify
employees assigned to a covered Federal contract.
State and local governments and Federally Recognized
Indian Tribes need only verify employees assigned to a covered Federal
contract.
Sureties performing under a takeover agreement entered
into with a Federal agency pursuant to a performance bond need only
verify employees assigned to the covered Federal contract.
In addition, the final rule exempts from verification requirements
(a) employees who hold an active security clearance of confidential,
secret, or top secret and (b) employees for whom background
investigations have been completed and credentials issued pursuant to
Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12. Contractors
concerned with costs associated with identifying and separating
existing employees assigned to a Federal contract, for the purpose of
E-Verify, are provided the option of verifying all employees of the
contractor, including any existing employees not currently assigned to
a Government contract.
Dated: November 6, 2008.
Al Matera,
Director, Office of Acquisition Policy.
[FR Doc. E8-26905 Filed 11-13-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P