All government contractors subject to new human trafficking rule.

• Author: Casino, Bruce J.
• Position: CONTRACT LAW

* Effective March 2, a new federal government rule concerning human trafficking went into effect, directly impacting all 300,000 plus government contractors and many more subcontractors.

Under the rule all contractors must promulgate a new human trafficking policy. Furthermore, in many cases certification of compliance after due diligence must be done for contracts awarded after the effective date. In addition, the Defense Department has published its own rule on the subject. Many contractors are still unaware of the new rules as the new measures were only finalized Jan. 29. Because of the implementation date, government contractors are scrambling and playing catch-up to comply with these complex rules.

Human trafficking--obtaining labor or sex acts through force, fraud or coercion--is a modern day version of slavery. Its elimination has become a major priority of the Obama administration. More than 20 million persons worldwide are believed to have been the victims of trafficking in the past year.

The new rule imposes significant burdens. First, all federal government contractors must adopt a policy that has numerous "thou shalt nots."

These include: Engage in trafficking in persons; procure commercial sex acts; use forced labor in the performance of any contract; deny access by an employee to their passports or similar identity or immigration documents; use misleading or fraudulent recruiting practices; use recruiters that do not comply with local labor laws of the country in which the recruiting takes place; charge employees recruitment fees; fail to provide return transportation upon the end of employment; or provide or arrange housing that fails to meet host country housing and safety standards.

Contractors are required to inform all employees of the new policy and include related language in all contracts with subcontractors or agents.

The rules must be enforced with contractor disciplinary action for violations. Any violation of the rules could result in subcontract termination, reduction in benefits or termination of employment. Additionally, from the government end, violations could result in contract termination, suspension or debarment, a False Claims Act case and criminal sanctions.

Contractors also must turn themselves in to the government "immediately" if there is "credible information" from any source regarding a potential violation of the policy, whether by an employee, subcontractor, subcontractor employee or agent. Even the...