2022-01506. Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 2022-04; Introduction

AGENCY:

Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION:

Summary presentation of an interim rule.

SUMMARY:

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2022-04. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC.

DATES:

For effective date see the separate documents, which follow.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Malissa Jones, Procurement Analyst, at 571-882-4687 or by email at [e-mail] for clarification of content. For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division at 202-501-4755 or [e-mail]. Please cite FAC 2022-04, FAR Case 2021-014.

Rule Listed in FAC 2022-04

Subject: Increasing the Minimum Wage for Contractors.

FAR Case: 2021-014.

ADDRESSES:

The FAC, including the SECG, is available at https://www.regulations.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A summary for the FAR rule follows. For the actual revisions and/or amendments made by this FAR rule, refer to the specific subject set forth in the document following this summary. FAC 2022-04 amends the FAR as follows:

Increasing the Minimum Wage for Contractors (FAR Case 2021-014)

This interim rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 14026, Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors, and a final rule issued by the Department of Labor (DOL). E.O. 14026 seeks to raise the hourly minimum wage paid by contractors to workers performing work on or in connection with covered Federal contracts to $15.00 per hour beginning January 30, 2022, and beginning January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, an amount determined by the Secretary of Labor. This rule makes revisions to the existing FAR coverage regarding minimum wage requirements for Federal contractors by increasing the hourly minimum wage paid by certain Federal contractors to workers performing work on or in connection with covered Federal contracts; referencing DOL's new requirements for tipped workers; expanding the geographical scope of the minimum wage requirements by defining United States as including U.S. territories and possessions; and removing the exemption for seasonal recreational services or seasonal recreational equipment rental from the minimum wage requirements. DoD, GSA, and NASA do not expect this rule to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, because DOL has determined that their rule would not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. DoD, GSA, and NASA agree with this assessment.

William F. Clark,

Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.

Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2022-04 is issued under the authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services, and the Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Unless otherwise specified, all Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and other directive material contained in FAC 2022-04 is effective January 26, 2022 except for FAR Case 2021-014, which is effective January 30, 2022.

John M. Tenaglia,

Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting, Department of Defense.

Jeffrey A. Koses,

Senior Procurement Executive/Deputy CAO, Office of Acquisition Policy, U.S. General Services Administration.

Karla Smith Jackson,

Assistant Administrator for Procurement, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.