Whistle Blower Protections for Contractor Employees Extended

FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) 3.900(b) and 3.908 implemented a pilot program for the enhancement of whistleblower protections for contractor employees from July 1, 2013 to January 2, 2017. The pilot program was subsequently extended to July 2, 2017. Prior to expiring, the pilot program was made permanent by Public Law 114-261 on December 14, 2016.

The FAR Councils are presently processing FAR Case 2-005, Whistle blower Protection for Contractor Employees to revise the FAR to make the pilot program permanent. The FAR case will be finalized at some undetermined point in the future.

In the meantime, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC) has issued a letter authorizing agencies to issue deviations to FAR in order to continue the pilot program coverage and address potential confusion in the use of clauses in commercial contracts implementing the program.

Most civilian agencies are taking the necessary steps to implement the CAAC letter so that whistleblower protections for contractor employees remain viable. Additionally, the CAAC letter clarifies that the relevant contract clauses belong in commercial item contracts in addition to negotiated procurements.

You can read the full letter here.