AGC member Joel Zingeser (Grunley Construction Co. Inc., Rockville, Md.) today testified before the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management regarding contracting with the federal government. 

Chairwoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) held the hearing in order to examine the small business programs of the Architect of the Capitol, the General Services Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institution.

Zingeser's testimony focused on several contracting reform policies that AGC has advocated for including better accounting of subcontractor participation, contract bundling, HUBZones and agency consistency.

For more on the hearing, click here.

A rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to use the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' E-Verify system to verify their employees' authorization to work in the U.S. is now in effect.  The rule applies to federal solicitations and contract awards government-wide beginning September 8. 

The FAR Council issued the final rule in November 2008.  In response to a legal challenge to the rule and in order to give the new administration time to fully review the matter, the government agreed to suspend the rule on three separate occasions, but, in a July 8 statement, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that DHS will "push ahead with full implementation" of the rule without further delay. 

The rule requires the insertion of a new clause in certain federal contracts and subcontracts.  Prime contracts below the simplified acquisition threshold of $100,000 and those with performance terms of less than 120 days are excluded.  The clause requires the contractor to use E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all new employees hired during the contract term and all current employees assigned to work on a federal job within the U.S.  It also allows, but does not require, the federal contractor to use E-Verify to confirm eligibility of all employees, regardless of whether they are assigned to work on a federal job.  Currently, use of E-Verify to confirm anyone other than a new hire (including applicants and current employees) is prohibited. 

The rule applies only to employers with direct contracts with the federal government and, via a flow-down requirement, to their subcontractors.  It does not apply to employers working only on federally funded projects or on other projects not under contract with a federal agency.

Although the litigation continues, contractors are advised to carefully review all new solicitations and contracts for federal projects and comply with any E-Verify requirements at this time.  AGC will continue to monitor all related litigation and legislation and will report on significant developments.

Click here for the E-Verify Supplemental Guidance for Federal Contractors issued by USCIS on September 8.  Click here for DHS's list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) for Federal Contractors and E-Verify.  Click here for more information about critical components of the rule.  Click here for information about free webinars on the E-Verify program.

Further guidance on immigration compliance is available in an MP3 download of a live educational session held at AGC's Annual HR Professionals Conference in June 2008.  An immigration law update will also be provided at AGC's next HR Professionals Conference, which will take place October 27-29, in Atlanta, Ga. Click here for conference details and registration.

On August 13, AGC submitted comments on the July 14, 2009 Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council notice of proposed rulemaking, which implemented President Obama's Executive Order 13502 to create new FAR contract clauses to be included in Federal contracts should an agency choose to require a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) on a particular Federal construction project.

The proposed rule encourages (not requires) agencies to consider (not necessarily adopt) a PLA requirement on large-scale construction projects (defined as projects with a total cost to the federal government of $25 million or more) on a project-by-project basis where certain criteria are met. AGC's comments focused on this vague and subjective set of requirements agencies had to meet to impose a PLA on a project. AGC also pointed out that the agency requirement that the PLA must "allow all contractors and subcontractors to compete for contracts and subcontracts without regard to whether they are otherwise parties to collective bargaining agreements" is ostensibly a fair principle, but is unrealistic, considering the very burdensome changes that a public PLA typically imposes on open shop contractors operations.

The comment period on the proposed rule relating to project labor agreements was subsequently extended for 30 days, with a new deadline of September 23. If you would like to submit your views, you can send comments by mail to General Services Administration, Regulatory Secretariat (VPR), 1800 F Street, NW, Room 4041, ATTN: Hada Flowers, Washington, D.C. 20405, or by fax to (202) 501-4067. Comments can also be submitted online via the federal eRulemaking portal by clicking here.

Read more about AGC's Comments and the Proposed Rule here.

The first reporting deadline for the Recovery Act is October 10, 2009 and covers all contracts and funds from February 14 to October 1, 2009. Section 1512 of the Recovery Act requires information about the project and the jobs it creates, plus salary disclosure for certain federal contractors, to be reported to the central federal Web site, www.federalreporting.gov.

At 12:01 A.M. on August 17, 2009, that Web site went live. Recipients of Recovery funds are now able to register as the first step in the reporting process mandated by the Recovery Act. To register, recipients must already have a DUNS number and CCR number.

Registration will continue through September 30, 2009, with reporting officially beginning on October 1, 2009 through October 10, 2009. For more information on the reporting requirements contained in the Recovery Act, click here (for federal contractors), here (for federally-assisted work) and here (for more information about the reporting process). For OMB's guidance and forms associated with reporting, see OMB's recipient reporting information.