A Practical Guide to Determining Who Is a ‘Subcontractor’ Under the FAR
Recent executive orders and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) deviations have heightened subcontractor administration obligations for prime contractors and highlighted a familiar and sometimes difficult question for contractors: Who is a “subcontractor”? What seems to be a straightforward question often is not. 00:00 10:34 Quick Hits The determination as to who qualifies as a “subcontractor” is not always straightforward and carries real compliance risk if done incorrectly. The F AR and relevant case law reinforce a functional definition of “subcontractor” focused less on how a relationship is labeled and more on whether a vendor provides goods or services for the performance of the prime contract and whether the work is essential to contract performance. Contractors can apply a practical, nexus-based framework to assess whether a vendor’s role ties directly to statement-of-work requirements. Under-inclusion of vendors and suppliers for the purposes of compliance with the FAR and e...