FAR Council Proposes Rule to Require Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects

On August 19, 2022, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) proposed a rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs) to require that federal contractors and their subcontractors enter into project labor agreements (PLAs) for large-scale Federal construction projects, where the total estimated cost to the Government is $35 million or more.  A PLA is defined as a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project.   The rule implements E.O. 14063, the Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, which increased the threshold from $25 million to $35 million dollars.   The FAR Council estimates there will be approximately 120-215 entities that will be required to submit a PLA, and 24-43 of these entities are small entities.  The FAR Council also estimates that each of these prime contractors has approximately 2 subcontractors that may be subject to these PLAs; 48-86 of these subcontractors are considered small entities.  The FAR Council does not have compliance cost estimates in the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.  Advocacy seeks feedback on the numbers of small entities affected by this rule, compliance cost estimates and any regulatory alternatives that may minimize these costs.  

Written comments on this proposed rule are due on October 18, 2022.

• Read and submit comments on the proposed rule in the Federal Register.
• Advocacy contact: Major Clark at Major.Clark@sba.gov or Janis Reyes at Janis.Reyes@sba.gov