Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 243 / Monday, December 20, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 76355

(c) The Contractor shall comply with 

all provisions of Executive Order 13201 

of February 17, 2001, and related 

implementing regulations at 29 CFR part 

470, and orders of the Secretary of 

Labor.

(d) In the event that the Contractor 

does not comply with any of the 

requirements set forth in paragraphs (b), 

(c), or (g), the Secretary may direct that 

this contract be cancelled, terminated, 

or suspended in whole or in part, and 

declare the Contractor ineligible for 

further Government contracts in 

accordance with procedures at 29 CFR 

part 470, Subpart B—Compliance 

Evaluations, Complaint Investigations 

and Enforcement Procedures. Such 

other sanctions or remedies may be 

imposed as are provided by 29 CFR part 

470, which implements Executive Order 

13201, or as are otherwise provided by 

law.

(e) The requirement to post the 

employee notice in paragraph (b) does 

not apply to—

(1) Contractors and subcontractors 

that employ fewer than 15 persons;

(2) Contractor establishments or 

construction work sites where no union 

has been formally recognized by the 

Contractor or certified as the exclusive 

bargaining representative of the 

Contractor’s employees;

(3) Contractor establishments or 

construction work sites located in a 

jurisdiction named in the definition of 

the United States in which the law of 

that jurisdiction forbids enforcement of 

union-security agreements;

(4) Contractor facilities where upon 

the written request of the Contractor, the 

Department of Labor Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for Labor-Management 

Programs has waived the posting 

requirements with respect to any of the 

Contractor’s facilities if the Deputy 

Assistant Secretary finds that the 

Contractor has demonstrated that—

(i) The facility is in all respects 

separate and distinct from activities of 

the Contractor related to the 

performance of a contract; and

(ii) Such a waiver will not interfere 

with or impede the effectuation of the 

Executive order; or

(5) Work outside the United States 

that does not involve the recruitment or 

employment of workers within the 

United States.

(f) The Department of Labor publishes 

the official employee notice in two 

variations; one for contractors covered 

by the Railway Labor Act and a second 

for all other contractors. The Contractor 

shall—

(1) Obtain the required employee 

notice poster from the Division of 

Interpretations and Standards, Office of 

Labor-Management Standards, U.S. 

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 

Avenue, NW, Room N–5605, 

Washington, DC 20210, or from any 

field office of the Department’s Office of 

Labor-Management Standards or Office 

of Federal Contract Compliance 

Programs;

(2) Download a copy of the poster 

from the Office of Labor-Management 

Standards website at http://

www.olms.dol.gov; or

(3) Reproduce and use exact duplicate 

copies of the Department of Labor’s 

official poster.

(g) The Contractor shall include the 

substance of this clause in every 

subcontract or purchase order that 

exceeds the simplified acquisition 

threshold, entered into in connection 

with this contract, unless exempted by 

the Department of Labor Deputy 

Assistant Secretary for Labor–

Management Programs on account of 

special circumstances in the national 

interest under authority of 29 CFR 

470.3(c). For indefinite quantity 

subcontracts, the Contractor shall 

include the substance of this clause if 

the value of orders in any calendar year 

of the subcontract is expected to exceed 

the simplified acquisition threshold. 

Pursuant to 29 CFR part 470, Subpart 

B—Compliance Evaluations, Complaint 

Investigations and Enforcement 

Procedures, the Secretary of Labor may 

direct the Contractor to take such action 

in the enforcement of these regulations, 

including the imposition of sanctions 

for noncompliance with respect to any 

such subcontract or purchase order. If 

the Contractor becomes involved in 

litigation with a subcontractor or 

vendor, or is threatened with such 

involvement, as a result of such 

direction, the Contractor may request 

the United States, through the Secretary 

of Labor, to enter into such litigation to 

protect the interests of the United 

States.

(End of clause)

■ 7. Amend section 52.244–6 by revising 

the date of the clause; redesignating 

paragraph (c)(1)(v) as (c)(1)(vi), and 

adding a new paragraph (c)(1)(v) to read 

as follows:

52.244–6 Subcontracts for Commercial 

Items.

* * * * *

SUBCONTRACTS FOR COMMERCIAL 

ITEMS (DEC 2004)

* * * * *

(c)(1) * * *

(v) 52.222–39, Notification of 

Employee Rights Concerning Payment 

of Union Dues or Fees (DEC 2004) (E.O. 

13201). Flow down as required in 

accordance with paragraph (g) of FAR 

clause 52.222–39).

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 04–27636 Filed 12–17–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Part 19

[FAC 2001–26; FAR Case 2003–010; Item 

V]

RIN 9000–AJ90

Federal Acquisition Regulation; Mentor 

Prote ́ge ́ Program—Delegation of 

Approval Authority for Mentor Prote ́ge ́

Agreements

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: TheCivilian Agency 

Acquisition Council and the Defense 

Acquisition Regulations Council 

(Councils) have agreed on a final rule 

amending the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) to change the approval 

authority of Mentor Prote ́ge ́ Agreements 

to the DoD Military Departments or 

Defense Agencies.

DATES: Effective Date: January 19, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

FAR Secretariat at (202) 501–4755 for 

information pertaining to status or 

publication schedules. For clarification 

of content, contact Ms. Rhonda Cundiff, 

Procurement Analyst, at (202) 501–

0044. Please cite FAC 2001–26, FAR 

case 2003–010.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

This final rule amends FAR 19.702, 

Statutory Requirements, to change the 

approval authority of Mentor Prote ́ge ́

Agreements to the DoD Military 

Departments or Defense Agencies. This 

change is being made in order for DOD 

to streamline and transform itself to 

more effectively achieve its mission. 

The Pilot Mentor-Prote ́ge ́ Program was 

established under Section 831 of Pub. L. 

101–510, the National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 

(10 U. S. C. 2302 note). The purpose of 

the Program is to provide incentives to 

major Department of Defense (DoD) 

contractors to assist prote ́ge ́ firms in 

76356 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 243 / Monday, December 20, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 

enhancing their capabilities to satisfy 

DoD and other contract and subcontract 

requirements. Under the Mentor-Prote ́ge ́

Program, eligible companies approved 

as mentor firms will enter into mentorprote ́ge ́ agreements with eligible prote ́ge ́

firms to provide appropriate 

developmental assistance to enhance 

the capabilities of the prote ́ge ́ firms to 

perform as subcontractors and 

suppliers. DoD may provide the mentor 

firm with either cost reimbursement or 

credit against applicable subcontracting 

goals established under contracts with 

DoD or other Federal agencies.

The Department of Defense, in an 

effort to streamline and transform itself 

in order to more effectively achieve its 

mission and in recognition that the 

Military Departments have the 

necessary expertise to manage programs 

efficiently, is transferring the 

management of the Mentor Prote ́ge ́

program to the Military Departments 

and Defense Agencies. The Office of the 

Secretary of Defense will maintain 

oversight and policy development 

responsibilities.

DoD, GSA, and NASA published a 

proposed rule in the Federal Register at 

69 FR 18244, April 6, 2004, with request 

for comments. One respondent 

submitted a comment that was outside 

the scope of the rule and no action was 

taken. The Councils agreed to convert 

the proposed rule to a final rule.

Accordingly, the FAR is amended to 

state that the Director, Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization of 

the cognizant DoD Military Department 

or Defense Agency, will be the approval 

authority for mentor-prote ́ge ́

agreements.

This is not a significant regulatory 

action and, therefore, was not subject to 

review under Section 6(b) of Executive 

Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. This 

rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 

804.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Department of Defense, the 

General Services Administration, and 

the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration certify that this final 

rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities within the 

meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., because the 

rule removes a restriction, thus allowing 

DoD to make a minor policy change.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

The Paperwork Reduction Act does 

not apply because the changes to the 

FAR do not impose information 

collection requirements that require the 

approval of the Office of Management 

and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et 

seq.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 19

Government procurement.

Dated: December 9, 2004.

Laura Auletta,

Director, Contract Policy Division.

■ Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA 

amend 48 CFR part 19 as set forth below:

■ 1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

part 19 is revised to read as follows:

PART 19—SMALL BUSINESS 

PROGRAMS

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. 

chapter 137; and 42 U.S.C. 2473(c).

■ 2. Amend section 19.702 by revising 

paragraph (d) to read as follows:

19.702 Statutory requirements.

* * * * *

(d) As authorized by 15 U.S.C. 

637(d)(11), certain costs incurred by a 

mentor firm in providing developmental 

assistance to a prote ́ge ́ firm under the 

Department of DefensePilot MentorProte ́ge ́ Program, may be credited as if 

they were subcontract awards to a 

prote ́ge ́ firm for the purpose of 

determining whether the mentor firm 

attains the applicable goals under any 

subcontracting plan entered into with 

any executive agency. However, the 

mentor-prote ́ge ́ agreement must have 

been approved by the Director, Small 

and Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

of the cognizant DoD military 

department or defense agency, before 

developmental assistance costs may be 

credited against subcontract goals. A list 

of approved agreements may be 

obtained at http://www.acq.osd.mil/

sadbu/mentorlprotege/ or by calling 

(703) 588–8631.

[FR Doc. 04–27637 Filed 12–17–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Part 42

[FAC 2001–26; FAR Case 2001–018; Item 

VI]

RIN 9000–AJ77

Federal Acquisition Regulation; 

Applicability of the Cost Principles and 

Penalties for Unallowable Costs

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency 

Acquisition Council and the Defense 

Acquisition Regulations Council 

(Councils) have agreed on a final rule 

amending the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) by increasing the 

contract dollar threshold for assessing a 

penalty if the contractor includes 

expressly unallowable costs in its claim 

for reimbursement.

DATES: Effective Date: January 19, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

FAR Secretariat at (202) 501–4755 for 

information pertaining to status or 

publication schedules. For clarification 

of content, contact Mr. Richard C. Loeb 

at (202) 208–3810. Please cite FAC 

2001–26, FAR case 2001–018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

DoD, GSA, and NASA published a 

proposed rule in the Federal Register at 

68 FR 66988 on November 28, 2003, 

with request for comments. The 

Councils proposed to amend the FAR to: 

(1) remove the requirement to apply the 

cost principles and procedures at FAR 

Part 31 when pricing a contract if cost 

or pricing data are not obtained; (2) add 

a definition to FAR Part 31 for fixedprice contracts, subcontracts, and 

modifications; and (3) increase the 

contract dollar threshold for assessing a 

penalty if the contractor includes 

expressly unallowable costs in its claim 

for reimbursement (FAR Part 42). Three 

respondents submitted comments on the 

proposed FAR rule; a discussion of the 

comments are provided below. The 

Councils considered all comments and 

decided not to adopt the proposed 

revisions to FAR Parts 15 and 31, and 

to convert the proposed rule at FAR Part 

42 to a final rule. Differences between