Overview
This section prescribes the mandatory procedures and certification requirements contracting officers must follow to ensure the federal government does not acquire end products mined, produced, or manufactured using forced or indentured child labor. It focuses on the use of the Department of Labor’s "List of Products" as a primary tool for risk assessment and compliance.
Key Rules
- Mandatory Screening: Contracting officers must check the Department of Labor’s List of Products for any supply solicitation expected to exceed the micro-purchase threshold.
- Certification Requirement: For products on the List, offerors must certify either that they will not furnish a product from the identified country of origin or that they have made a "good faith effort" to determine that forced/indentured child labor was not used.
- Trade Agreement Exemptions: Certification requirements are waived for certain countries if the acquisition exceeds specific dollar thresholds (e.g., $50,000 for Israel; $102,280 for Mexico; $174,000 for GPA countries).
- Reliance on Certification: In the absence of actual knowledge to the contrary, the contracting officer must rely on the offeror’s certification when making an award.
- Referral for Investigation: If a contracting officer has reason to believe a product was produced with forced child labor after an award subject to certification, they must refer the matter to the agency’s Inspector General, the Attorney General, or the Secretary of the Treasury.
- Remedies: Proper certification does not protect a contractor from remedies (such as contract termination or debarment) if it is later discovered that child labor was actually used.
Practical Implications
- Due Diligence for Contractors: Offerors providing goods found on the DOL List must implement supply chain tracking and verification processes to support "good faith" certifications and mitigate the risk of investigation or contract termination.
- Solicitation Compliance: Contracting officers must ensure specific clauses regarding child labor certifications are included in solicitations for supplies, adding a critical step to the pre-award checklist for items not covered by trade agreement exemptions.