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Contracting Groups Welcome Extension of Leave Provision in COVID Deal
Language enacted in the CARES Act allowing agencies to give contractors sick or paid leave during the pandemic if they cannot access their worksites was extended until March 31, 2021.
The federal contracting community welcomed the extension of leave flexibilities in the $900 billion coronavirus relief package that Congress approved on Monday after months of negotiations.
The relief package extended Section 3610 from the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, which allows federal agencies to use their funds to give contractors sick or paid leave during the pandemic if they are not able to access their worksites or telework, until March 31, 2021. Although the Trump administration in guidance issued on March 20 advised agencies to “maximize telework” for contractors, that is not possible for many contractor jobs, including some involving sensitive or classified work.
The Office of Management and Budget issued guidance in April that clarified agencies could use their funds to reimburse contractors from the period of March 27 (when the CARES Act was signed) to September 30. It was then extended until December 11 in the continuing resolution passed in September and the subsequent ones.
The Professional Services Council, a trade association that represents over 400 companies that contract with the federal government, applauded the fiscal 2021 funding levels approved Monday in an omnibus spending package and the coronavirus relief legislation in a statement on Tuesday.
The extension of the option to offer sick or paid leave is “a top PSC priority,” said the association. “PSC led eight trade associations in requesting this extension in a letter to Congress on November 20,” which “emphasized that Section 3610 authority ‘continues to be used by many federal agencies to maintain the capabilities and workforce necessary to meet mission needs and protect our national security and other vital programs’ and that it will be needed as long as the COVID-19 health emergency is in effect.”
The National Defense Industrial Association, which represents defense contractors, also welcomed the provision.
“Everyone wants to be back on the job [and] Sec. 3610 helps keep employees paid so government contractors don’t lose these highly trained and highly cleared employees to the commercial sector, which could potentially have a negative impact post-pandemic,” the association said in a statement to Government Executive on Tuesday. “This is not a provision to make companies rich, it is protection for companies and employees, which helps support the economy by preventing layoffs and the trickle-down effect that comes with them.”
The Defense Department is one of the top contracting agencies and its inspector general stated in a report issued earlier this month that, “in general DoD contracting officers complied with OMB and DoD guidance to support rational decisions that were in the best interest of the government when approving Section 3610 requests.” However there were some challenges, such as, “Contracting officers having to rely on the contractor’s self-certification of the use of other COVID-19 relief measures, tracking and identifying Section 3610 in DoD contracts, and the lack of a specific appropriation for Section 3610.”
President Trump is expected to sign the legislation, but in order to have enough time to print and prepare it, another continuing resolution was enacted that runs through December 28.