Compliance Stuff

On March 26, 2026, President Trump issued  Executive Order 14398, Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors , which instructed  . Consistent with deadlines established by the executive order, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council)  issued a memorandum  dated April 17, 2026, providing guidance to agencies that issue contracts to support their implementation of EO 14398.  The memorandum informs agencies that they must use the new contract clause at FAR 52.222-90 as follows: Beginning April 24, 2026, the new clause must be inserted in new solicitations and resulting contracts that are valued over the micro-purchase threshold, including contracts for commercial products and services. The micro-purchase threshold is $15,000. Open solicitations are also to be amended to incorporate the new clause.  Contracting officers are further instructed to “make every effort to bilaterally modify existing contracts by July 24, 2026 .” If a contr...

Executive Order (EO) No. 14398, “ Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors ,” issued on March 26, 2026, introduces a  new compliance dynamic  for federal contractors by requiring prime contractors to report “known or reasonably knowable” subcontractor conduct that constitutes “racially discriminatory” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities. 00:00 10:32 While the new contractual obligation is plainly written, the contours of what is “reasonably knowable” are less certain. For primes, the key question now is how far their due diligence and oversight responsibilities should extend into the operations of their subs, particularly in sensitive internal areas such as employment practices (e.g., hiring and promotions), employee program participation, contracting, or allocation or deployment of company resources. The clause’s focus on conduct “[i]n connection with” the contract and traditional industry practice in the prime–sub relationship can provide a complia...