§ 2952.239-70 - Section 508 Requirements.

2952.239-70 Section 508 Requirements.

As prescribed in 2939.270, insert the following clause:

Section 508 Requirements (AUG 2024)

A. Definition

The term “Information and Communication Technology (ICT)” in this contract is used as defined at FAR 2.101.

B. Requirements

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d), applies to federal departments, such as DOL, and the contractors providing support on behalf of such federal departments. The contractor is required to provide Section 508 compliant systems and components of ICT when federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use ICT. The contractor shall ensure that its system and components allow federal employees and members of the public with disabilities access to, and use of, information and data that is comparable to the access afforded federal employees and members of the public without disabilities. Products, platforms, and services delivered as part of this contract action that are ICT, or contain ICT, shall conform to the Revised Section 508 Standards, which are located at 36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C.

Please insert the clause(s) below which meet the parameters of the contract being awarded.

(a) Requirements by service/contract type are as follows:

(1) Custom ICT Development Services: When the contractor provides custom ICT development services and/or Commercially Available Off-the-Shelf (COTS) products, pursuant to the requirements, the contractor shall ensure the ICT fully conforms to the Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C) prior to delivery and before final Acceptance.

(2) Installation, Configuration, & Integration Services: When the contractor provides installation, configuration, or integration services for equipment or software pursuant to the requirement, the contractor shall not install, configure, or integrate the equipment or software in a way that reduces the level of conformance with the Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C).

(3) Maintenance Upgrades & Replacements: The contractor shall ensure maintenance upgrades, substitutions, and replacements to equipment and software pursuant to this award do not reduce the approved level of conformance with the Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C) at the time of award. Additionally, an updated Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) shall be submitted for the ICT, and the ACR shall be completed according to the instructions provided by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) to be considered for each option year exercised.

(4) Contractor Processes: The contractor shall ensure that its processes are at a maturity level at least equivalent to the DHS Trusted Tester methodology; that its personnel have the knowledge, skills, and ability necessary to make ICT under this contract conform to the Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C); and that it provides conformant Section 508 supporting documentation upon request.

(5) Hosting Services: The contractor shall not implement hosting services in a manner that reduces the existing level of conformance of the electronic content with the Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C), when providing hosting services for electronic content to the agency. Throughout the life of the award, the agency reserves the right to perform Independent third-party testing on a vendor or contractor's hosted solution to verify conformance.

(b) Validation for ICT: The contractor shall test and validate the ICT for conformance to the Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C), in accordance with the required testing methods and provide test results to verify conformance of the Voluntary Product Assessment Template (VPAT).

(1) For web and software, WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Conformance test results shall be based on the Accessibility Tests for Software and Web, Harmonized Testing Process for Section 508 Compliance from the DHS Trusted Tester program.

(2) For Microsoft Office and PDF documents, WCAG 2.0 Level A, and AA Conformance test results shall be based on the Harmonized Testing Guidance from the Accessible Electronic Documents Community of Practice.

(3) For ICT that are not electronic content, the contractor shall validate conformance to the Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C) using a defined testing process. The contractor shall describe the test process and provide the testing results to the agency.

(c) Conformance Reporting: For ICT that are developed, updated, or configured for the agency, and when product substitutions are offered:

(1) Before Acceptance, the contractor shall provide an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) for the ICT that is developed, updated, configured for the agency, and when product substitutions are offered. The ACR should be based on the most recent version of the Voluntary Product Assessment Template (VPAT) provided by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI). An ACR shall be submitted for each ICT and shall be completed according to the instructions provided by ITI to be considered for Acceptance.

(2) Before Acceptance, when the contractor is required to perform testing to validate conformance to the agency's accessibility requirements, the vendor shall provide a supplemental accessibility report that contains the following information:

i Accessibility test results based on the required test methods.

ii Documentation of features provided to help achieve accessibility and usability for people with disabilities.

iii Documentation of core functions that cannot be accessed by persons with disabilities.

iv Documentation on how to configure and install the ICT to support accessibility.

v. When ICT is an authoring tool that generates content (including documents, reports, training, videos, multimedia productions, web content, etc.), provide information on how the ICT enables the creation of accessible electronic content that conforms to the Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C), including the range of accessible user interface elements the tool can create.

vi. Before final Acceptance, the contractor shall provide a fully working demonstration of the completed ICT to demonstrate conformance to the agency's accessibility requirements. The demonstration shall expose where such conformance is and is not achieved.

(3) At any time, DOL reserves the right to perform Independent third-party testing to validate the ICT provided by the contractor, conforms to the Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C).

(d) Non-Compliance: Before final Acceptance of ICT, including updates and replacements, DOL shall determine that the furnished ICT is in compliance with the Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C). If the furnished ICT is determined to be non-compliant, the contracting officer shall notify the contractor of this determination, within 15 business days of determination of non-compliance. The contractor shall, at no cost to DOL, repair or replace the non-compliant products or services within the period specified by the contracting officer. The contracting officer makes the final decision to accept or not accept a contractor's ICT that does not meet the Revised 508 Standards (36 CFR part 1194, appendices A and C).

(End of Clause)