October 1, 2021

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council has issued a “Memorandum on Issuance of Agency Deviations to Implement Executive Order (EO) 14042”, the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors.

The FAR Council states that the purpose of the memorandum is to provide agencies that award contracts under the Federal Acquisition Regulation with initial direction for the incorporation of a clause into their solicitations and contracts to implement guidance issued by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (Task Force) pursuant to EO 14042.

Section 3(a) of EO 14042 directs the FAR Council to develop a contract clause requiring contractors and subcontractors at any tier to comply with all guidance for contractor or subcontractor workplace locations published by the Task Force and to provide initial policy direction to acquisition offices for use of the clause by recommending that agencies exercise their authority under FAR subpart 1.4., Deviations from the FAR.

Per the memo, agencies are required to include an implementing clause in solicitations and contracts for services, including construction, in accordance with the following dates specified in EO 14042: (1) new contracts awarded on or after November 14 from solicitations issued before October 15 (this includes new orders awarded on or after November 14 from solicitations issued before October 15 under existing indefinite-delivery contracts); (2) new solicitations issued on or after October 15 and contracts awarded pursuant to those solicitations (this includes new solicitations issued on or after October 15 for orders awarded pursuant to those solicitations under existing indefinite-delivery contracts); (3) extensions or renewals of existing contracts and orders awarded on or after October 15, 2021; and (4) options on existing contracts and orders exercised on or after October 15, 2021.

To maximize the goal of getting more people vaccinated and decrease the spread of COVID-19, the memo notes the Task Force strongly encourages agencies to apply the requirements of its guidance broadly by including the clause in: (1) contracts that have been or will be awarded prior to November 14 on solicitations issued before October 15; and (2) contracts that are not covered or directly addressed by the order because the contract or subcontract is under the simplified acquisition threshold or is a contract or subcontract for the manufacturing of products. Finally, the memo states agencies should “act expeditiously” to issue their deviations so that their contracting officers may begin to apply the clause on or before October 15.

The memorandum is available on the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force website here.

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