final report of a study or research contract.

§ 29-1.353 Standards of conduct.

All DOL personnel engaged in activities related to procurement shall conduct such activities in a manner above reproach in every respect. See Part 0 of Title 29 CFR. Transactions relating to expenditure of public funds require the highest degree of public trust to protect the interests of the Government. See § 29-1.302 for requirements concerning "arms-length" dealings.

§ 29-1.354 Violations of law.

In the event DOL procurement personnel have reason to believe there is evidence of a violation of law of any nature whatsoever in bids or proposals received, including a violation of the antitrust laws, they shall prepare, for the signature of the head of the procuring activity, a complete report addressed to the Solicitor. In the case of a possible violation of antitrust laws, a report from procurement personnel through the same channels shall be prepared for the Attorney General, complying with the requirements of Subpart 1-1.9 of this title.

Subpart 29-1.4-Procurement
Responsibility and Authority

§ 29-1.400 Scope of subpart.

This subpart deals with the procurement responsibility and authority of the head of the agency as defined in § 291.204, and also the head of the procuring activity and contracting officer, the selection of the latter, their designation and the degree and manner with which procurement authority is delegated to them and their right of redelegation. § 29-1.401 Responsibility of the head of the procuring activity.

(a) First tier delegation. In the DOL, contracting officer authority and procurement responsibility have been delegated from the Secretary of Labor through the Assistant Secretary for Administration only to the following four officials or officers acting in their behalf: (1) The

Manpower.

Assistant Secretary for

(2) The Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

(3) The Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs.

(4) The Director, Office of Admin

istrative Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration.

(b) Delegation and limitations. The exercise of the delegations noted in (a) above may be further redelegated by these officers and are described as follows:

(1) The Assistant Secretary for Manpower, or an officer acting in that capacity, is assigned responsibility for the procurement of program-oriented property and services, except for those excluded under subparagraphs (4) (i) and (ii), of this paragraph, required to fulfill the statutory and regulatory responsibilities delegated to the Assistant Secretary for Manpower.

(2) The Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics, or an officer acting in that capacity, is assigned responsibility for:

(i) Procurement of statistical and economic research services, except for those excluded under subparagraphs (4) (i) and (ii) of this paragraph, required to fulfill the statutory and regulatory responsibilities delegated to the Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

(ii) Sale of special statistics developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in accordance with 29 U.S.C. 9.

(3) Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs, or an officer acting in that capcity, is assigned responsibility for procurement of property and services, except those excluded under subparagraphs (4) (i) and (ii) of this paragraph, required for execution of international programs, including those under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, required to fulfill the statutory and regulatory responsibilities delegated to the Administrator, Bureau of International Labor Affairs.

(4) The Director, Office of Administrative Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration, or an officer acting in that capacity, is assigned responsibility for:

(i) Procurement of all property and services required for the operation of the Department of Labor, except for those program-oriented, procurement actions specifically delegated to other officials in subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3), of this paragraph, including, but not limited to, imprest fund purchases, rentals, and the purchase of advertisements.

(ii) Procurement of all property and services which are obtained through formal advertising, regardless of whether or not the responsibility for the pro

curement of a particular item would have been delegated under subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3), of this paragraph, but for the use of the formal advertising method of procurement.

(c) Policy responsibility reservations. The Assistant Secretary for Administration shall remain responsible: for the development and maintenance of necessary uniform procurement policies, procedures and standards; for providing technical assistance and advice to the above-named officials in their capacity as heads of their procuring activities; for keeping the Secretary of Labor fully informed on procurement matters which should be brought to his attention; and for making recommendations necessary to achieve any of these objectives. § 29-1.402 Authority

officers.

of

contracting

Contracting officers, in the DOL, within the limits of their contracting officer delegation, have the responsibility and the authorty for:

(a) Executing and administering contracts in such a manner as to safeguard the interest of the United States in contractual relationships and making necessary determinations and findings under contracts;

(b) Providing the contractor written notice as provided in § 29-1.450 of the name of the contracting officer's representative or any "on-site" or other technical representative either designated to provide technical surveillance of the work being performed at a particular site or any other service in behalf of the contracting officer and the extent of such representative's authority.

(c) Using standard contract forms, when required by the FPR and DOLPR;

(d) Obtaining all necessary approvals and otherwise complying with applicable contracting directives.

(e) Personally sigining all contracts and modifications entered into by them in accordance with § 29-1.303;

(f) Exercising care, skill, and judgment in all of their actions;

(g) Assuring that funds are available and that their actions are within the scope of their authority.

(j) Initiating any appropriate action necessary to properly assure satisfactory contract performance;

§ 29-1.404 Selection, designation, and termination of designation of contracting officers.

§ 29-1.404-1 Selection.

All selections of individuals shall be made with care and on the basis of criteria set out in § 1-1.404-1 of this title. § 29-1.404-2 Designation.

All designations and terminations or designations of contracting officers shall be made in writing with two copies forwarded to the Assistant Secretary for Administration, who shall maintain a file of all employees currently designated to act as contracting officers and of the instruments of their designation.

§ 29-1.404-50 Modification of authority.

To effect modification of a contracting officer's authority, his present appointment (designation) shall be revoked, and a new designation issued. § 29-1.404-51

bility.

Continuity of responsi

Designated contracting officers who relieve or succeed previously designated contracting officers will assume responsibility for the administration of contracts entered into by the previously designated contracting officers. Each contracting officer succession requires a new written designation.

§ 29-1.405 Ratification of unauthorized contract awards.

Except in compliance with the ratification limitation of §§ 1-1.405 and 293.450, no liability shall be incurred by the Government as a result of any individual's entry into any informal or unauthorized arrangement for the reimbursement of a contractor's precontract or anticipatory costs even if such costs were incurred by the contractor while "proceeding at the contractor's own risk," until the occurring of some contingency, e.g., "subject to the availability of funds." § 29-1.450

Contracting officers repre

sentatives.

(a) Contracting officers may designate other Government employees to act as their authorized representatives for certain specific purposes of contract administration. Such designation shall be

in writing and shall contain specific instructions as to the extent to which the representative has been delegated authority to take action for the contracting officer. Such designation shall not contain authority to sign contractual documents. Such designation may include authority for the review and approval of all or some of the following: the preliminary approach to contract performance, a research plan, research techniques, progress reports, invoices, and final reports, and/or other functions of a technical nature not involving a change in the scope, price, terms, or conditions of the contract or order. The designation of the contracting officer's representative and the responsibilities delegated to him shall be made known to the contractor, in writing, as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section, preferably by including it in the contract at time of award. However, if the designation is not known at the time of award, it should be included, when known, in the contract by amendment. Letter notice, while permissible, is nevertheless not as desirable as notice that becomes part of the contract.

(b) A person assigned to and performing his primary duty within a procurement office, and who is under the supervision of a contracting officer, does not require written designation as a representative of the contracting officer nor designation in a contractual document to perform his assigned duties. Such a person is considered to be an employee of the contracting officer, acting in the latter's behalf and, as such, has the authority and responsibility to perform, under the terms and conditions of his employment, acts as assigned by the latter. The contracting officer, however, shall not authorize his employees, as part of their duties, to sign any contractual document or letter in those instances where the signature of a contracting officer is required.

(c) The contracting officer shall use a contract clause substantially similar to the one below to make known his designation of a representative and shall include in such designation authority to perform those administrative actions in (b) of the clause as may be applicable. IDENTITY AND AUTHORITY OF THE CONTRACTING OFFICER'S REPRESENTATIVE

(a) The authorized representative of the contracting officer is

whose authority to act on behalf of the contracting officer is limited to the extent set forth in (b) below. Under no circum

(1) Preliminary approaches in the work scope.

(2) The research plan in a research, development or evaluation contract.

(3) Research techniques.

(4) Progress reports.

(5) Invoices.

(6) Final reports.

§ 29-1.451

Regional administrative officer purchasing authority.

Purchasing authority (see § 29-3.60250) is the authority to perform the functions of a contracting officer on a limited basis. The authority is ordinarily implicit in any general delegation of contracting officer authority. Nevertheless, when standing alone as it does when it is delegated to the DOL's Regional Administrative Officers (RAO's), it constitutes a separate limited authority to make small purchases (i.e., not in excess of $2,500 which do not involve the solicitation and acceptance of bids or signing of agreements or contracts) and, when delegated authority, to issue purchase orders against a Federal Supply Schedule. This limited decentralization of the procurement function is intended to facilitate the procurement for DOL operations, by providing limited procurement authority as closely as practicable to the points at which the services are needed. Typically, some administrations and offices limit RAO procurement of items in order to impose national office procurement controls. Also, where there exists a blanket Departmental purchase order for a particular item, RAO's should be notified to make no further purchase of the item.

§ 29-1.452 Responsibility of procurement officials to question requirements and reaffirm their validity. Procurement officials are responsible for questioning the need for and the validity of any contemplated procurement action particularly under any of the circumstances described below:

(a) Where requisitions for unusually large quantities of an item or requisitions for untimely or otherwise unusual purchases are received immediately prior to the end of the fiscal year in which the funds may be obligated ("June Buying");

(b) Where the request for procurement of goods and services requires development by the supplier of a special item when suitable off-the-shelf items are available;

(c) Where the specification furnished by the using activity appears to be either more or less restrictive than necessary to assure satisfactory performance for the purpose for which the item is being procured.

(d) Where sufficient quality-assurance offered by the supplier's data appears to be lacking.

(e) Where award on a proposed procurement has been prolonged to the extent of raising a question as to its ultimate need;

(f) Where during the processing of the procurement the description of the supplies or services or the delivery schedule or quantity continue to undergo change or matters are otherwise disclosed which raise a question as to the necessity for the requirement or, at least, its magnitude, in the form being procured.

(g) Where the procurement appears to delegate, to contractors and others, any of those decision-making responsibilities or prerogatives of the Government that are improper to delegate from the standpoint of "public policy."

(h) Where the procurement may result in unnecessarily isolating the supplier from future competition, thus creating an expensive, restrictive dependency on that supplier to fill future needs.

(i) Where the benefits accruing to the contractor as a result of the contract are so large that the contractor should be required to share costs and/or make other concessions to the Government.

(j) Where proposals or bids for performing the work required in the procurement appear to be solicited from an unreasonably small number of suppliers.

(k) Where the Government does not reserve the royalty-free right to publish or have published the publications and reports which are the deliverable end products of the procurement.

(1) Where the procurement would place the contractor's employees under the direct supervision and control of DOL officials and employees.

(m) Where there appears to be inadequate security to safeguard Government funds or property.

(n) Where the procurement provides no description or definition of what con

stitutes satisfactory performance on the part of the contractor.

(0) Where the scope of the contractor's performance includes not only research performance but evaluation of that research performance. This type of contract has as its basic characteristic a combination of functions that inherently make for a conflict of interests, e.g., when a feasibility study is combined with performance, or performance is combined with performance evaluation, as part of the same effort.

(p) Where the procurement otherwise appears to violate statutes, regulations, or the Department's policies and procedures.

§ 29-1.454 Independence of procurement officials to carry out responsibilities.

The heads of the procuring activities shall take necessary measures to insure the independence of the judgment of contracting officers. This includes the provision of a suitable location within the procuring activity so that contracting officers can fulfill objectively the responsibilities set out in § 29-1.402. In this connection, it is the policy of DOL to place procurement officials to the maximum practical extent outside the direct supervision of program operating officials.

Subpart 29-1.5-Contingent Fees § 29-1.508 Enforcement.

§ 29-1.508-1 Failure or refusal to furnish representation and agreement. In all cases of negotiated procurement where the SF 119 is required, the contracting officer shall determine whether negotiations will be suspended pending receipt of the executed SF 119.

§ 29-1.508-2 Failure or refusal to furnish Standard Form 119.

The contracting officer may, on his own initiative, take any of the actions authorized in § 1-1.508-2 of this title provided he documents the contract file to justify the action taken.

§ 29-1.508-3 Misrepresentations or violations of the covenant against contingent fees.

(a) The head of a procuring activity, only with the advice and consent of the Solicitor first obtained, can take any of the actions authorized by § 1-1.508-3 (a), (b), and (c) of this title.

"Debarring Officer" means the Assistant Secretary for Administration who is the DOL official authorized to invoke debarment or suspension measures as authorized by § 1-1.602-1 (d), (f), and (g) of this title and to include on the "DOL Debarred, Suspended, and Ineligible Bidders' List," defined below, those concerns and individuals determined to be subject to such measures in accordance with § 1-1.602-1 (a), (b), (c), (e), and (h) of this title.

§ 29-1.602 Establishment and maintenance of a list of concerns or individuals debarred, suspended, or declared ineligible.

The Debarring Officer shall establish and maintain a list of concerns and individuals to whom contracts will not be awarded and from whom bids or proposals will not be solicited for contracts with the DOL. The list shall be designated as the "DOL Debarred, Suspended, and Ineligible Bidders' List" and compliance with its use throughout DOL is mandatory. The Debarring Officer shall keep the list current and publish and distribute it bi-monthly to heads of DOL procuring activities who shall be responsible for its redistribution. The list shall be marked "For Official Use Only" to reduce inspection of its contents by other than DOL personnel required to have access thereto. The head of an administration or office may request, in writing, on his own initiative or by endorsement of recommendations of a contracting officer under his jurisdiction, that a concern or individual be placed on the DOL Debarred, Suspended, and Ineligible Bidders' List in accordance with the procedures of this subpart. If all necessary information is not readily available, a preliminary report concerning actions that may warrant debarment

may be submitted to be followed as soon thereafter as practicable by a completely documented report. The Debarring Officer, based on the preliminary report, may determine that a suspension is warranted. The Debarring Officer will also be responsible for making for DOL, the determinations, administrative and otherwise, which are permitted under § 1-1.602-1 (d), (f), and (g), and § 11.604 and maintaining liaison with the General Services Administration and otherwise comply with § 1-1.606 of this title. Upon a showing by the head of an administration or office that it would be in the public's best interest to make an exception for a particular procurement action and allow an award to a debarred concern or individual, the Debarring Officer may determine that an exception is warranted.

(a) Initiation of debarment action. The Debarring Officer shall determine if the request for debarment has sufficient merit to warrant further processing. He shall communicate his decision to the head of the Administration or office recommending debarment.

(1) Notice to contractors. If the Debarring Officer decides further action in the matter is warranted, he shall send a letter by registered mail, return receipt requested, to notify the concern or individual that debarment is being proposed, stating as a minimum, in addition to the items required in § 1-1.604-1 of this title, the following:

(i) The scope of the proposed debarment as to any known affiliates, if any; (ii) The period of the proposed debarment;

(iii) The extent of the proposed debarment, e.g., whether it is Departmentwide;

(iv) That the debarment determination shall become final and effective 30 days after receipt by the concern or individual of such letter, unless the concern or individual mails or otherwise furnishes written information to show why there should not be a decision to debar or furnishes to the Debarring Officer a written request for hearing addressed to the Secretary of Labor in ac