On December 7, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Labor, and the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons in the Department of State, issued a proposed memorandum titled “Anti-Trafficking Risk Management Best Practices & Mitigation Considerations.”  The document is intended, at least in part, to “promote clarity and consistency in the implementation of anti-trafficking requirements” imposed by Executive Order 13627, Title XVII of the FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, and the implementing regulatory provisions applicable to all federal contractors at FAR 22.17 and FAR 52.222-50.  Although the guidance document is in draft form, it is important for contractors to consider closely because it (1) outlines the government’s contemplated expectations on anti-trafficking risk mitigation, and (2) informs agencies that they may immediately take the contents of the memorandum “into consideration in applying the anti-trafficking requirements in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.”

In addition to reiterating the basic requirements of the anti-trafficking FAR rule (which we have covered in other posts), the memorandum outlines a series of “best practices and mitigation considerations” designed to inform contracting officers’ assessments of whether contractors are effectively carrying out their compliance responsibilities.  Although the guidance states that it is “not intended to augment or otherwise change existing regulatory requirements,” it does specify that, in the event the government becomes aware of a trafficking violation, a contractor’s compliance with the practices identified in the guidance are to be construed as mitigating considerations weighing in the contractor’s favor.  
Continue Reading New Guidance on Contractor Risk Management Under the Human Trafficking Rule Released