Overview
FAR Subpart 24.3 establishes the mandatory requirements for contractor employees to receive initial and annual privacy training when their duties involve handling personally identifiable information (PII) or managing "systems of records" on behalf of the government. This subpart ensures that all personnel with access to sensitive data are fully aware of their legal obligations under the Privacy Act of 1974 and are trained in breach response procedures.
Key Rules
- Mandatory Training Cycles: Contractors must ensure applicable employees complete initial privacy training before gaining access to data, followed by annual refresher training.
- Training Criteria: The training must be role-based, provide foundational and advanced levels of instruction, and include a mechanism to test the employee's knowledge.
- Prohibition of Access: No contractor employee is permitted to access, create, collect, or handle PII or systems of records until they have successfully completed the required training.
- Minimum Content Requirements: Training must cover the Privacy Act of 1974, penalties for violations, authorized use of PII, restrictions on using unauthorized equipment, and specific procedures for responding to a suspected or confirmed data breach.
- Record Keeping: Contractors are required to maintain documentation of training completion for all applicable employees and must provide these records to the government upon request.
Responsibilities
- Contracting Officers (CO):
- Must insert FAR clause 52.224-3 in solicitations and contracts where employees will handle PII or systems of records.
- Must specify if only agency-provided training is acceptable by using Alternate I of the clause.
- Contractors:
- Responsible for the actual delivery of training (either their own or agency-provided).
- Must track and verify that 100% of applicable staff have completed training before beginning work.
- Must ensure the training content meets all regulatory standards listed in FAR 24.301(b).
- Contractor Employees:
- Must complete all required training modules and pass associated tests to maintain access to government information systems and PII.
Practical Implications
- Onboarding Bottlenecks: Because training is a prerequisite for access (FAR 24.301(e)), contractors must factor training time into their onboarding schedules to avoid delays in contract performance.
- Audit Risk: Contractors should treat training logs as "audit-ready" documents. Failure to produce a training certificate for a single employee handling PII could be flagged as a significant compliance failure during a Performance Assessment Representative (PAR) review.
- Training Flexibility vs. Constraint: While contractors are generally allowed to use their own internal privacy training, they must carefully map their internal curriculum against the six specific points in FAR 24.301(b) to ensure compliance. If a contract specifies Alternate I, the contractor must abandon their internal modules and use the agency’s specific portal or materials, which may require additional administrative coordination.
- Cost of Compliance: Contractors should account for the labor hours required for annual training in their indirect costs or overhead, as this is a recurring requirement for the life of the contract.