FAR 22.102-1—Policy.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 22.102-1 states the Government’s policy that agencies must cooperate, and must encourage contractors to cooperate, with Federal and State agencies that enforce labor requirements. The section covers a broad set of labor-law topics: safety, health and sanitation, maximum hours and minimum wages, equal employment opportunity, child and convict labor, age discrimination, disabled and Vietnam veteran employment, employment of workers with disabilities, and eligibility for employment under U.S. immigration laws. In practice, this means contracting personnel should not treat labor compliance as isolated to one statute or one agency; instead, they should support coordination with the appropriate enforcement authorities when labor issues arise on a contract. The policy is intended to promote consistent enforcement of labor standards across federal contracting and to reduce the risk that contract performance will conflict with applicable labor laws. For contractors, the practical effect is that they may need to cooperate with labor-related inquiries, inspections, or compliance efforts tied to these subject areas. For agencies, the rule reinforces that labor compliance is part of contract administration and oversight, not an optional or separate concern.
Key Rules
Agency cooperation required
Agencies must cooperate with Federal and State agencies responsible for enforcing labor requirements. This is a mandatory policy direction, not merely a suggestion, and it applies across the listed labor-law subject areas.
Contractor cooperation encouraged
Agencies must encourage contractors to cooperate with labor-enforcement agencies. While the text does not impose a direct standalone duty on contractors in this sentence, it makes clear that contractor cooperation is expected and should be promoted through contract administration and oversight.
Broad labor-law coverage
The policy applies to a wide range of labor requirements, including safety, health and sanitation, wages and hours, equal employment opportunity, child and convict labor, age discrimination, veteran and disability-related employment protections, and immigration eligibility. This breadth means agencies should coordinate across multiple compliance regimes rather than focusing on only one labor issue.
Applies to Federal and State enforcement
The cooperation requirement is not limited to Federal labor agencies. Agencies must also work with State agencies that enforce labor requirements, which is important where state labor standards or inspections overlap with federal contract performance.
Supports enforcement and compliance
The purpose of the policy is to facilitate enforcement of labor laws affecting federal contracting. In practice, this means agencies should avoid obstructing legitimate labor investigations and should help ensure contractors understand and respond appropriately to compliance obligations.
Responsibilities
Agencies
Cooperate with Federal and State agencies that enforce labor requirements, and build that cooperation into contract administration, oversight, and internal coordination. Agencies should also encourage contractor cooperation when labor-enforcement issues arise.
Contracting Officers and Contract Administrators
Support agency cooperation efforts in day-to-day contract management, communicate labor-compliance expectations to contractors, and help facilitate responses to labor-enforcement inquiries or coordination requests as appropriate.
Contractors
Cooperate with labor-enforcement efforts when encouraged or required through contract administration, and ensure internal practices support compliance with applicable labor laws covering safety, wages and hours, EEO, child labor, age discrimination, disability-related employment, and immigration eligibility.
Federal and State Labor-Enforcement Agencies
Enforce the labor requirements identified in the policy and coordinate with contracting agencies as needed to investigate, monitor, or resolve labor-compliance issues affecting contract performance.
Practical Implications
This section is a policy foundation for labor compliance in federal contracting, so it often shows up in how agencies handle investigations, complaints, audits, and referrals involving labor standards.
Contractors should expect that labor issues may involve more than one enforcement body; a wage issue, for example, may overlap with state labor rules, while hiring practices may implicate EEO, disability, veteran, or immigration-related requirements.
A common pitfall is treating labor compliance as purely a subcontractor or HR issue. Under this policy, it is also a contract administration issue that can affect performance, reporting, and agency coordination.
Another risk is failing to cooperate promptly with legitimate labor-enforcement inquiries, which can create friction with the contracting agency and complicate resolution of the underlying issue.
Because the section lists many different labor topics, agencies and contractors should watch for cross-cutting compliance obligations rather than assuming one labor law satisfies the whole requirement.
Official Regulatory Text
Agencies shall cooperate, and encourage contractors to cooperate with Federal and State agencies responsible for enforcing labor requirements such as- (a) Safety; (b) Health and sanitation; (c) Maximum hours and minimum wages; (d) Equal employment opportunity; (e) Child and convict labor; (f) Age discrimination; (g) Disabled and Vietnam veteran employment; (h) Employment of workers with disabilities; and (i) Eligibility for employment under United States immigration laws.