FAR 22.1310—Solicitation provision and contract clauses.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 22.1310 tells contracting officers when to include the veterans’ employment and reporting solicitation provisions and contract clauses. It covers three related items: the Equal Opportunity for Veterans clause at 52.222-35, the Employment Reports on Veterans clause at 52.222-37, and the Compliance with Veterans’ Employment Reporting Requirements provision at 52.222-38. In practice, this section is the trigger point for deciding whether a solicitation and resulting contract must carry veterans’ affirmative action and reporting requirements, based on dollar value, place of performance, waiver status, and whether the acquisition is for commercial products or commercial services. It also links the reporting clause to the equal opportunity clause, so the reporting obligation follows when the equal opportunity clause applies. For contractors, this means checking early whether veterans-related compliance obligations will attach, because they affect proposal preparation, contract administration, and annual reporting. For agencies and contracting officers, it means making the right clause/provision insertions at the solicitation stage and ensuring any waiver or overseas-performance exception is applied correctly.
Key Rules
Insert veterans clause at $200K
Include 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans, in solicitations and contracts when the expected value is $200,000 or more. This is the baseline rule for when the veterans equal opportunity clause applies.
Overseas recruited employees exception
Do not insert 52.222-35 when the work will be performed outside the United States by employees recruited outside the United States. This exception is tied to both the place of performance and the recruitment location of the employees.
Waiver can remove clause
If the OFCCP Director or the agency head waives all terms of the clause under FAR 22.1305, the contracting officer does not insert 52.222-35. If only some terms are waived, the basic clause is used with Alternate I.
Reporting clause follows equal opportunity clause
Insert 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans, in solicitations and contracts that contain 52.222-35. The reporting clause is not standalone here; it is required when the equal opportunity clause is included.
Reporting provision for larger noncommercial buys
Insert 52.222-38, Compliance with Veterans’ Employment Reporting Requirements, in solicitations when award is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold and the acquisition is not for commercial products or commercial services. This is a solicitation provision, not a contract clause.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Determine whether the expected value meets the $200,000 threshold, whether any overseas-performance exception applies, and whether a waiver has been granted. Insert 52.222-35, 52.222-37, and 52.222-38 as required, and use Alternate I when only part of the veterans clause has been waived.
Agency Head
May waive all or part of the terms of the Equal Opportunity for Veterans clause under FAR 22.1305(b). If a partial waiver is granted, the contracting officer must use the basic clause with Alternate I.
OFCCP Director
May waive all or part of the terms of the Equal Opportunity for Veterans clause under FAR 22.1305(a). A full waiver eliminates the need to insert the clause; a partial waiver requires use of the basic clause with Alternate I.
Contractor
If the clauses are included, comply with the veterans equal opportunity requirements and, where applicable, submit the required veterans employment reports. Also respond to the solicitation provision on reporting compliance when the acquisition exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold and is noncommercial.
Solicitation/Acquisition Team
Identify early whether the acquisition is commercial or noncommercial and whether the expected award value exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold, so the correct veterans reporting provision is included in the solicitation.
Practical Implications
This section is a clause-selection rule, so mistakes usually happen at solicitation drafting rather than after award. If the wrong clause is omitted, the contract may be noncompliant and require corrective action.
The $200,000 threshold for 52.222-35 is separate from the simplified acquisition threshold used for 52.222-38, so contracting staff must check both thresholds independently.
The overseas exception is narrow: it applies only when work is performed outside the United States by employees recruited outside the United States. It is not a general foreign-performance exception for all overseas work.
A waiver can change which version of the clause is used. Contracting officers should verify whether the waiver is total or partial before finalizing the solicitation and contract.
Because 52.222-37 is tied to 52.222-35, contractors should expect reporting obligations whenever the equal opportunity clause is present, and should plan internal recordkeeping accordingly.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) (1) Insert the clause at 52.222-35 , Equal Opportunity for Veterans, in solicitations and contracts if the expected value is $200,000 or more, except when- (i) Work is performed outside the United States by employees recruited outside the United States; or (ii) The Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs of the U.S. Department of Labor, has waived, in accordance with 22.1305 (a), or the head of the agency has waived, in accordance with 22.1305 (b), all of the terms of the clause. (2) If the Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs of the U.S. Department of Labor, or the head of the agency waives one or more (but not all) of the terms of the clause, use the basic clause with its Alternate I. (b) Insert the clause at 52.222-37 , Employment Reports on Veterans, in solicitations and contracts containing the clause at 52.222-35 , Equal Opportunity for Veterans. (c) Insert the provision at 52.222-38 , Compliance with Veterans’ Employment Reporting Requirements, in solicitations when it is anticipated the contract award will exceed the simplified acquisition threshold and the contract is not for acquisition of commercial products or commercial services.