Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts, 60029-60033 [2012-24374]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 2, 2012)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 60029-60033]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24374]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2012 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 60029]]

                Executive Order 13627 of September 25, 2012

                
Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in 
                Persons in Federal Contracts

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, including the Federal Property and 
                Administrative Services Act (40 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) and 
                the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as 
                amended (TVPA) (Public Law 106-386, Division A), and in 
                order to strengthen protections against trafficking in 
                persons in Federal contracting, it is hereby ordered as 
                follows:

                Section 1. Policy. More than 20 million men, women, and 
                children throughout the world are victims of severe 
                forms of trafficking in persons (``trafficking'' or 
                ``trafficking in persons'')--defined in section 103 of 
                the TVPA, 22 U.S.C. 7102(8), to include sex trafficking 
                in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, 
                fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to 
                perform such act has not attained 18 years of age, or 
                the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, 
                or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through 
                the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose 
                of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt 
                bondage, or slavery.

                The United States has long had a zero-tolerance policy 
                regarding Government employees and contractor personnel 
                engaging in any form of this criminal behavior. As the 
                largest single purchaser of goods and services in the 
                world, the United States Government bears a 
                responsibility to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not 
                contribute to trafficking in persons. By providing our 
                Government workforce with additional tools and training 
                to apply and enforce existing policy, and by providing 
                additional clarity to Government contractors and 
                subcontractors on the steps necessary to fully comply 
                with that policy, this order will help to protect 
                vulnerable individuals as contractors and 
                subcontractors perform vital services and manufacture 
                the goods procured by the United States.

                In addition, the improved safeguards provided by this 
                order to strengthen compliance with anti-trafficking 
                laws will promote economy and efficiency in Government 
                procurement. These safeguards, which have been largely 
                modeled on successful practices in the private sector, 
                will increase stability, productivity, and certainty in 
                Federal contracting by avoiding the disruption and 
                disarray caused by the use of trafficked labor and 
                resulting investigative and enforcement actions.

                Sec. 2. Anti-Trafficking Provisions. (a) Within 180 
                days of the date of this order, the Federal Acquisition 
                Regulatory (FAR) Council, in consultation with the 
                Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary 
                of Labor, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 
                Administrator for the United States Agency for 
                International Development, and the heads of such other 
                executive departments and agencies (agencies) as the 
                FAR Council determines to be appropriate, shall take 
                steps necessary to amend the Federal Acquisition 
                Regulation to:

                    (1) strengthen the efficacy of the Government's 
                zero-tolerance policy on trafficking in persons by 
                Federal contractors and subcontractors in 
                solicitations, contracts, and subcontracts for supplies 
                or services (including construction and commercial 
                items), by:

(A) expressly prohibiting Federal contractors, contractor employees, 
subcontractors, and subcontractor employees from engaging in any of the 
following types of trafficking-related activities:

[[Page 60030]]

  (i) using misleading or fraudulent recruitment practices during the 
recruitment of employees, such as failing to disclose basic information or 
making material misrepresentations regarding the key terms and conditions 
of employment, including wages and fringe benefits, the location of work, 
living conditions and housing (if employer provided or arranged), any 
significant costs to be charged to the employee, and, if applicable, the 
hazardous nature of the work;

  (ii) charging employees recruitment fees;

  (iii) destroying, concealing, confiscating, or otherwise denying access 
by an employee to the employee's identity documents, such as passports or 
drivers' licenses; and

  (iv) for portions of contracts and subcontracts:

(I) performed outside the United States, failing to pay return 
transportation costs upon the end of employment, for an employee who is not 
a national of the country in which the work is taking place and who was 
brought into that country for the purpose of working on a U.S. Government 
contract or subcontract;

(II) not covered by subsection (a)(1)(A)(iv)(I) of this section, failing to 
pay return transportation costs upon the end of employment, for an employee 
who is not a national of the country in which the work is taking place and 
who was brought into that country for the purpose of working on a U.S. 
Government contract or subcontract, if the payment of such costs is 
required under existing temporary worker programs or pursuant to a written 
agreement with the employee; provided, however

(III) that the requirements of subsections (a)(1)(A)(iv)(I) and (II) shall 
not apply to:

                      (aa) an employee who is legally permitted to 
                    remain in the country of employment and who chooses 
                    to do so; or
                      (bb) an employee who is a victim of trafficking 
                    and is seeking victim services or legal redress in 
                    the country of employment, or an employee who is a 
                    witness in a trafficking-related enforcement 
                    action;

  (v) other specific activities that the FAR Council identifies as directly 
supporting or promoting trafficking in persons, the procurement of 
commercial sex acts, or the use of forced labor in the performance of the 
contract or subcontract;

(B) requiring contractors and their subcontractors, by contract clause, to 
agree to cooperate fully in providing reasonable access to allow 
contracting agencies and other responsible enforcement agencies to conduct 
audits, investigations, or other actions to ascertain compliance with the 
TVPA, this order, or any other applicable law or regulation establishing 
restrictions on trafficking in persons, the procurement of commercial sex 
acts, or the use of forced labor; and

(C) requiring contracting officers to notify, in accordance with agency 
procedures, the agency's Inspector General, the agency official responsible 
for initiating suspension or debarment actions, and law enforcement, if 
appropriate, if they become aware of any activities that would justify 
termination under section 106(g) of the TVPA, 22 U.S.C. 7104(g), or are 
inconsistent with the requirements of this order or any other applicable 
law or regulation establishing restrictions on trafficking in persons, the 
procurement of commercial sex acts, or the use of forced labor, and further 
requiring that the agency official responsible for initiating suspension 
and debarment actions consider whether suspension or debarment is necessary 
in order to protect the Government's interest;

                    (2) except as provided in subsection (a)(3) of this 
                section, ensure that provisions in solicitations and 
                clauses in contracts and subcontracts, where the 
                estimated value of the supplies acquired or services 
                required to be performed outside the United States 
                exceeds $500,000, include the following

[[Page 60031]]

                requirements pertaining to the portion of the contract 
                or subcontract performed outside the United States:

(A) that each such contractor and subcontractor maintain a compliance plan 
during the performance of the contract or subcontract that is appropriate 
for the size and complexity of the contract or subcontract and the nature 
and scope of the activities performed, including the risk that the contract 
or subcontract will involve services or supplies susceptible to 
trafficking. The compliance plan shall be provided to the contracting 
officer upon request, and relevant contents of the plan shall be posted no 
later than the initiation of contract performance at the workplace and on 
the contractor or subcontractor's Web site (if one is maintained), and 
shall, at a minimum, include:

  (i) an awareness program to inform employees about:

(I) the policy of ensuring that employees do not engage in trafficking in 
persons or related activities, including those specified in subsection 
(a)(1)(A) of this section, the procurement of commercial sex acts, or the 
use of forced labor; and

(II) the actions that will be taken against employees for violation of such 
policy;

  (ii) a process for employees to report, without fear of retaliation, any 
activity that would justify termination under section 106(g) of the TVPA, 
or is inconsistent with the requirements of this order, or any other 
applicable law or regulation establishing restrictions on trafficking in 
persons, the procurement of commercial sex acts, or the use of forced 
labor;

  (iii) a recruitment and wage plan that only permits the use of 
recruitment companies with trained employees, prohibits charging 
recruitment fees to the employee, and ensures that wages meet applicable 
host country legal requirements or explains any variance;

  (iv) a housing plan, if the contractor or subcontractor intends to 
provide or arrange housing, that ensures that the housing meets host 
country housing and safety standards or explains any variance; and

  (v) procedures to prevent subcontractors at any tier from engaging in 
trafficking in persons, including those trafficking-related activities 
described in subsection (a)(1)(A) of this section, and to monitor, detect, 
and terminate any subcontractors or subcontractor employees that have 
engaged in such activities; and

(B) that each such contractor and subcontractor shall certify, prior to 
receiving an award and annually thereafter during the term of the contract 
or subcontract, that:

  (i) it has the compliance plan referred to in subsection (a)(2)(A) of 
this section in place to prevent trafficking-related activities described 
in section 106(g) of the TVPA and this order; and

  (ii) either, to the best of its knowledge and belief, neither it nor any 
of its subcontractors has engaged in any such activities; or, if abuses 
have been found, the contractor or subcontractor has taken the appropriate 
remedial and referral actions;

                    (3) specify that the requirements in subsections 
                (a)(2)(A) and (B) of this section shall not apply with 
                respect to contracts or subcontracts for commercially 
                available off-the-shelf items.

                (b) Not later than 1 year after the date of this order, 
                the member agencies of the President's Interagency Task 
                Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 
                (PITF), established pursuant to section 105 of the 
                TVPA, 22 U.S.C. 7103, shall jointly establish a process 
                for evaluating and identifying, for Federal contracts 
                and subcontracts performed substantially within the 
                United States, whether there are industries or sectors 
                with a history (or where there is current evidence) of 
                trafficking-related or forced labor activities 
                described in section 106(g) of the TVPA, in subsection 
                (a)(1)(A) of this section, or any other applicable law 
                or regulation establishing restrictions

[[Page 60032]]

                on trafficking in persons, the procurement of 
                commercial sex acts, or the use of forced labor. Where 
                the PITF has identified such industries or sectors, it 
                shall notify agencies of these designations, and 
                individual agencies shall, in consultation with the 
                Office of Federal Procurement Policy of the Office of 
                Management and Budget, adopt and publish appropriate 
                safeguards, guidance, and compliance assistance to 
                prevent trafficking and forced labor in Federal 
                contracting in these identified areas.

                    Sec. 3. Guidance and Training. (a) The 
                Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy shall:
                    (1) in consultation with appropriate management 
                councils, such as the Chief Acquisition Officers 
                Council, provide guidance to agencies on developing 
                appropriate internal procedures and controls for 
                awarding and administering Federal contracts to improve 
                monitoring of and compliance with actions to prevent 
                trafficking in persons, consistent with section 106 of 
                the TVPA, including the development of methods to track 
                the number of trafficking violations reported and 
                remedies applied; and
                    (2) in consultation with the Federal Acquisition 
                Institute and appropriate management councils, such as 
                the Chief Acquisition Officers Council:

(A) develop methods to track the number of Federal employees trained; and

(B) implement training requirements to ensure that the Federal acquisition 
workforce is trained on the policies and responsibilities for combating 
trafficking, including on:

  (i) applicable laws, regulations, and policies; and

  (ii) internal controls and oversight procedures implemented by the 
agency, including enforcement procedures available to the agency to 
investigate, manage, and mitigate contractor and subcontractor trafficking 
violations.

                (b) The member agencies of PITF shall jointly 
                facilitate the sharing of information that may be used 
                by acquisition, program, and other offices within 
                agencies to evaluate where the risk of trafficking in 
                persons may be heightened based on the nature of the 
                work to be performed, the place of performance, and any 
                other relevant considerations.

                    Sec. 4. Effective Date. This order shall become 
                effective immediately and shall apply to solicitations 
                issued on or after the effective date for the action 
                taken by the FAR Council under subsection 2(a) of this 
                order.
                    Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this 
                order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
                    (1) the authority granted by law to an executive 
                department, agency, or the head thereof; or
                    (2) the functions of the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget relating to budgetary, 
                administrative, or legislative proposals.

                (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 60033]]

                (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create 
                any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                 THE WHITE HOUSE,

                     Washington, September 25, 2012.

[FR Doc. 2012-24374
Filed 10-1-12; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F3-P