Subpart 522.5 - Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects
522.501 Scope of subpart.
GSA’s contracting officers must require the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) in accordance with FAR 22.5, unless an exception has been granted by the Senior Procurement Executive (SPE). This subpart -
(a) Provides general policies regarding PLAs;
(b) Prescribes the policy and procedures for implementing exceptions to the PLA requirement; and
(c) Provides detailed procedures for reporting the use of PLAs and the exceptions granted for PLAs, as required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
522.505 Solicitation provision and contract clause.
(a) PLA submission timing alternates.
(1) Contracting activities are encouraged to review FAR provision 52.222-33 and its alternates to determine which one is appropriate for the particular project. Pursuant to FAR 22.505, the contracting officer may require submission of the PLA by all offerors, by the apparent successful offeror prior to award, or by the awardee after contract award. The contracting officer’s decision may be influenced by time constraints on contract award, the project delivery method, or the experience of the potential offerors with PLAs.
(2) Contracting activities should consider the benefits of using the alternate clauses, the effect on contract award and contract performance.
(3) Contracting activities must decide when and what PLA documentation is required for the procurement and identify the requirements in the solicitation. For each acquisition with a mandatory PLA, contracting activities need to decide whether to require offerors to-
(i) Submit the fully signed PLA or draft PLA with the offer submission;
(ii) Submit the fully signed PLA from only the apparent successful offeror, prior to contract award; or
(iii) Submit the fully signed PLA after the contract is awarded (e.g., 30/60/90 days after award of the contract or prior to the construction start notice to proceed).
(b) Synopsis. For procurements that use PLAs, contracting activities shall include language that identifies the solicitation as a PLA project. Sample language can be found on the Project Labor Agreement topic page of the GSA Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal.
522.570 Additional requirements for acquisitions involving project labor agreements.
522.570-1 General.
Resources for project labor agreements can be found on the Project Labor Agreement topic page of the GSA Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal.
(a) Applicability.
(1) General. Contracting officers must determine if the requirement is considered a large-scale construction project (see FAR 22.502). If it is, require the use of a project labor agreement unless the SPE grants an exception listed in FAR 22.504(d)(1).
(2) Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts for Construction. Requests for an exception from the FAR requirement (see FAR 22.504(d)(3)) to apply to all orders under a particular IDIQ shall be submitted to the SPE at a level no lower than the Assistant Commissioner for the PBS Office of Acquisitions.
(b) Process for Requesting Exceptions.
Contracting officers shall obtain approvals for exceptions to using PLAs on large-scale construction projects from the SPE by following the steps found on the Project Labor Agreement topic page of the GSA Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal.
(c) Reporting.
(1) For large-scale construction projects, the contracting officer must report information to the Office of Government-wide Policy (OGP) as follows:
(i) For projects granted an exception by the SPE, within one day of the time of solicitation issuance; or
(ii) For contracts and orders awarded with PLA requirement, within one day of the time of award.
(2) Contracting officers must use the reporting documents provided on the Project Labor Agreement topic page of the GSA Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal to provide the information.
522.570-2 Notifications.
(a) Notification to OMB of GSA PLA usage and exceptions. OGP will:
(1) Collect data on the number of GSA contracts awarded using PLAs, as required by OMB guidance, through the use of trackers and adhoc reports from SAM.gov as required by OMB guidance.
(2) Collect data on exceptions granted by the SPE as required by OMB guidance.
(3) Complete OMB reporting requirements on a transactional basis for all:
(i) Exceptions granted within three (3) business days of issuance of the solicitation, and
(ii) Contracts and orders awarded with PLA requirements within three (3) business days of contract award to MBX.OMB.OFPPv2@OMB.eop.gov
(b) Public Posting. GSA and OMB will post all agency exceptions and use of PLA reports on the Acquisition Gateway at https://acquisitiongateway.gov/additional-resources/resources/5014.