41 CFR Subtitle B - Other Provisions Relating to Public Contracts

GSA is amending the Federal Property Management Regulations (FPMR) by revising coverage regarding hazardous materials and certain categories of personal property, removing existing regulatory provisions from the FPMR, and moving coverage into the Federal Management Regulation (FMR). Upon issuance of this final rule, the FMR will address all types of personal property requiring special handling. A cross-reference is added to the FPMR to direct readers to the coverage in the FMR.

The U.S. Department of Labor's (“DOL”) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) is proposing regulations that would set forth requirements that covered Federal Government contractors and subcontractors and federally assisted construction contractors and subcontractors must meet in fulfilling their obligations under Executive Order 11246, as amended, to ensure nondiscrimination in employment on the basis of sex and to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their sex. This proposal would substantially revise the existing Sex Discrimination Guidelines, which have not been substantively updated since 1970, and replace them with regulations that align with current law and legal principles and address their application to current workplace practices and issues. Most of the proposed provisions in this NPRM would clarify well-established case law or applicable requirements from other Federal agencies and therefore would not change existing requirements for entities affected by this rule. The NPRM's approach with respect to pregnancy accommodation is consistent with the interpretation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act adopted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and by the Government in Young v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 707 F.3d 437 (4th Cir. 2013), cert. granted (U.S. No. 12-1226, July 1, 2014).

The General Services Administration (GSA), Office of Government-wide Policy (OGP) provides management policies to Federal civilian agencies that manage, acquire, use, and dispose of aircraft to accomplish their missions. OGP's regular review process revealed that the aviation policies found in the Federal Management Regulation (FMR) need to be substantially revised and updated. Consequently, OGP is revising its management of Government aircraft rules in their entirety in order to foster safe, efficient, and effective aviation programs within the U.S. Government. The member agencies of the Interagency Committee for Aviation Policy (ICAP) have participated in the formation of this final rule. This case is included in GSA's retrospective review of existing regulations under Executive Order 13563. Additional information is located in GSA's retrospective review available at: www.gsa.gov/improvingregulations.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is revising the regulations implementing Executive Order (EO) 11246, as amended, in accordance with Executive Order (EO) 13672, “Further Amendments to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity,” which was signed by President Barack Obama on July 21, 2014. EO 13672 amended EO 11246, which previously only prohibited discrimination by Federal contractors and subcontractors on the bases of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin and required them to take affirmative measures to prevent discrimination on those bases from occurring. More specifically, EO 13672 amended section 202 and section 203 of EO 11246, by substituting the phrase “sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin” for “sex or national origin.” This final rule implements EO 13672 by making the same substitution wherever the phrase “sex or national origin” appears in the regulations implementing EO 11246.

GSA is proposing to amend the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) by requiring agencies to have an internal policy for determining whether to authorize a privately owned vehicle (POV), as opposed to a rental car, in conjunction with temporary duty travel (TDY). Further, GSA proposes to specify that travelers, who have been authorized to travel via common carrier or rental car, and choose to use a POV instead, will be reimbursed at the applicable POV mileage rate. Also, this amendment proposes to add specific provisions addressing the type of rental vehicles travelers must use, as well as pre-paid refueling options and other rental car surcharges. Finally, this amendment proposes to make certain miscellaneous corrections, where applicable.

The Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS or the Agency) is issuing this Final Rule to revise the regulations implementing the reporting requirements under the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended (VEVRAA). Generally, VEVRAA requires Federal contractors and subcontractors to annually report on the total number of their employees who belong to the categories of veterans protected under VEVRAA, and the total number of those protected veterans who were hired during the period covered by the report. This Final Rule rescinds the regulations that prescribe the reporting requirements applicable to Government contracts and subcontracts entered into before December 1, 2003, because those regulations are now obsolete. In addition, this Final Rule revises the regulations that prescribe the reporting requirements applicable to Government contracts and subcontracts of $100,000 or more entered into or modified after December 1, 2003, by changing the manner in which Federal contractors report on their employment of veterans. The Final Rule renames the annual report required under those regulations the Federal Contractor Veterans' Employment Report VETS-4212. Further, the Final Rule revises regulations that address the definitions of terms used in the regulations, the text of the reporting requirements clause included in Government contracts and subcontracts, and the methods of filing the annual report on veterans' employment. Contractors and subcontractors will have to comply with the reporting requirements in the Final Rule beginning with the annual report filed in 2015.

GSA is amending the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) by incorporating recommendations of the Governmentwide Relocation Advisory Board (GRAB) concerning calculation of reimbursements for taxes on relocation expenses. In addition, this final rule alters the process for calculating reimbursements for taxes on extended temporary duty (TDY) benefits to correct errors and to align that process with the final changes to the relocation income tax process.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) proposes to amend one of its implementing regulations for Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity, which sets forth the reporting obligations of Federal contractors and subcontractors. This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) would amend the regulation by adding a requirement that certain Federal contractors and subcontractors supplement their Employer Information Report (EEO-1 Report) with summary information on compensation paid to employees, as contained in the Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement (W-2) forms, by sex, race, ethnicity, and specified job categories, as well as other relevant data points such as hours worked, and the number of employees. This summary compensation data collection from Federal contractors and subcontractors by OFCCP is a critical tool for eradicating compensation discrimination. It would enable OFCCP to direct its enforcement resources toward entities for which reported data suggest potential pay violations, and not toward entities for which there is no evidence of potential pay violations. It would also enhance two enforcement objectives: Greater voluntary compliance; and greater deterrence of noncompliant behaviors by contractors and subcontractors. OFCCP seeks to achieve these dual and complementary objectives while minimizing, to the extent feasible, the compliance burden borne by Federal contractors and subcontractors.