FAR 22.1703—Policy.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 22.1703 states the Government’s policy against trafficking in persons and explains how that policy must be built into solicitations and contracts. It covers the core prohibitions on severe forms of trafficking, commercial sex acts, forced labor, confiscation or denial of identity and immigration documents, misleading or fraudulent recruitment, use of noncompliant recruiters, charging recruitment fees, failure to provide required return transportation, housing that does not meet host-country standards, and failure to provide required written work documents. It also requires contractors and subcontractors to notify employees of these prohibitions and the consequences for violations. In addition, the section addresses when a compliance plan and certification are required, including the threshold and overseas-performance triggers, and it tells contracting officers to consider trafficking risk and the expected use of non-U.S. citizens when deciding whether to require work documents. Practically, this section is the policy foundation for anti-trafficking clauses and compliance obligations in federal contracts, especially those with overseas performance, labor-intensive work, or vulnerable worker populations.
Key Rules
Trafficking is prohibited
Solicitations and contracts must prohibit severe forms of trafficking in persons, procuring commercial sex acts, and using forced labor during contract performance. This applies to contractors, subcontractors, their employees, and agents.
Identity documents must not be withheld
Contractors and subcontractors may not destroy, conceal, confiscate, or otherwise deny employees access to passports, driver’s licenses, or similar identity or immigration documents. This rule is intended to prevent coercion and worker control.
Recruitment abuses are banned
The policy forbids misleading or fraudulent recruitment practices, including material misrepresentations about wages, benefits, work location, housing, costs, or hazardous conditions, and it requires recruiters to comply with local labor laws where recruitment occurs. Charging recruitment fees to employees or prospective employees is also prohibited.
Return transportation may be required
For certain overseas work, contractors must provide or pay for return transportation for non-national employees brought in to perform the contract, unless an exception applies. Limited exceptions exist for employees who may lawfully remain and choose to do so, or when an authorized agency official grants an exemption; special rules apply for trafficking victims and witnesses so transportation does not interfere with victim services, legal redress, or testimony.
Housing and work documents matter
If contractors provide or arrange housing, it must meet host-country housing and safety standards. If required by law or contract, contractors must provide written employment or recruitment documents in a language the employee understands, and if relocation is required, the document must be provided at least five days before relocation and include key terms such as duties, wages, fees, location, housing, time off, transportation, grievance procedures, and anti-trafficking laws.
Employee notice is required
Contractors and subcontractors must notify employees of the prohibited activities and the actions that may be taken for violations. This is meant to make the rules visible to workers and support reporting and enforcement.
Compliance plans and certification may be required
For certain contracts or subcontracts involving supplies other than COTS items acquired outside the United States or services performed outside the United States, and where the estimated value exceeds $700,000, the apparent successful offeror must certify before award that it has a compliance plan. The certification must confirm the plan is implemented and includes procedures to prevent and monitor prohibited activities.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Include the required anti-trafficking prohibitions and employee-notice requirements in solicitations and contracts. Determine whether a compliance plan and pre-award certification are required, and consider trafficking risk and the expected number of non-U.S. citizens when deciding whether to require written work documents.
Contractor
Comply with all anti-trafficking prohibitions during performance, ensure its employees, agents, and subcontractors do the same, provide required employee notices, maintain and implement any required compliance plan, and provide the required certification when applicable.
Subcontractor
Follow the same trafficking prohibitions and employee-notice requirements that flow down from the prime contract, and avoid prohibited recruitment, document retention, fee-charging, housing, and transportation practices.
Employees and Agents
Refrain from engaging in trafficking-related conduct, forced labor, commercial sex acts, document confiscation, fraudulent recruitment, or other prohibited activities while performing contract work.
Agency
Establish procedures for any authorized exemptions from return-transportation requirements and designate officials who may grant those exemptions. Agencies also support implementation and oversight of the anti-trafficking policy.
Practical Implications
This section is most important on overseas contracts and labor-intensive contracts, where recruitment, housing, transportation, and document control issues create higher trafficking risk.
A common pitfall is assuming the rules apply only to the prime contractor; the policy reaches subcontractors, employees, and agents, so flowdown and oversight are essential.
Another frequent problem is recruitment fees or misleading recruiting practices by third-party recruiters, especially where local labor-law compliance is weak or hard to verify.
Contractors should document compliance plans, worker notices, recruitment practices, housing standards, and transportation arrangements because these are the kinds of records that support audits, investigations, and contract administration.
Contracting officers should pay close attention to whether the contract triggers the certification threshold and whether work documents should be required based on risk and the expected use of non-U.S. citizens.
Official Regulatory Text
The United States Government has adopted a policy prohibiting trafficking in persons, including the trafficking-related activities below. Additional information about trafficking in persons may be found at the website for the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at http://www.state.gov/j/tip . See 47.405 (b) for contract reporting requirements concerning training to prevent human trafficking for domestic carrier air transportation; 47.405 (b) is not applicable to contracts awarded by the Department of Defense or contracts for commercial products. Government solicitations and contracts shall— (a) Prohibit contractors, contractor employees, subcontractors, subcontractor employees, and their agents from- (1) Engaging in severe forms of trafficking in persons during the period of performance of the contract; (2) Procuring commercial sex acts during the period of performance of the contract; (3) Using forced labor in the performance of the contract; (4) Destroying, concealing, confiscating, or otherwise denying access by an employee to the employee’s identity or immigration documents, such as passports or drivers' licenses, regardless of issuing authority; (5) (i) Using misleading or fraudulent practices during the recruitment of employees or offering of employment, such as failing to disclose, in a format and language understood by the employee or potential employee, basic information or making material misrepresentations during the recruitment of employees regarding the key terms and conditions of employment, including wages and fringe benefits, the location of work, the living conditions, housing and associated costs (if employer or agent provided or arranged), any significant costs to be charged to the employee or potential employee, and, if applicable, the hazardous nature of the work; (ii) Using recruiters that do not comply with local labor laws of the country in which the recruiting takes place; (6) Charging employees or potential employees recruitment fees; (7) (i) (A) Failing to provide return transportation or pay for the cost of return transportation upon the end of employment, for an employee who is not a national of the country in which the work is taking place and who was brought into that country for the purpose of working on a U.S. Government contract or subcontract, for portions of contracts and subcontracts performed outside the United States; or (B) Failing to provide return transportation or pay for the cost of return transportation upon the end of employment, for an employee who is not a United States national and who was brought into the United States for the purpose of working on a U.S. Government contract or subcontract, if the payment of such costs is required under existing temporary worker programs or pursuant to a written agreement with the employee for portions of contracts and subcontracts performed inside the United States; except that- (ii) The requirements of paragraph (a)(7)(i) of this section do not apply to an employee who is- (A) Legally permitted to remain in the country of employment and who chooses to do so; or (B) Exempted by an authorized official of the contracting agency, designated by the agency head in accordance with agency procedures, from the requirement to provide return transportation or pay for the cost of return transportation; (iii) The requirements of paragraph (a)(7)(i) of this section are modified for a victim of trafficking in persons who is seeking victim services or legal redress in the country of employment, or for a witness in an enforcement action related to trafficking in persons. The contractor shall provide the return transportation or pay the cost of return transportation in a way that does not obstruct the victim services, legal redress, or witness activity. For example, the contractor shall also offer return transportation to a witness at a time that supports the witness’ need to testify. This paragraph does not apply when the exemptions at paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section apply. (8) Providing or arranging housing that fails to meet the host country housing and safety standards; or (9) If required by law or contract, failing to provide an employment contract, recruitment agreement, or other required work document in writing. Such written document shall be in a language the employee understands. If the employee must relocate to perform the work, the work document shall be provided to the employee at least five days prior to the employee relocating. The employee’s work document shall include, but is not limited to, details about work description, wages, prohibition on charging recruitment fees, work location(s), living accommodations and associated costs, time off, roundtrip transportation arrangements, grievance process, and the content of applicable laws and regulations that prohibit trafficking in persons. The contracting officer shall consider the risk that the contract or subcontract will involve services or supplies susceptible to trafficking in persons, and the number of non-U.S. citizens expected to be employed, when deciding whether to require work documents in the contract; (b) Require contractors and subcontractors to notify employees of the prohibited activities described in paragraph (a) of this section and the actions that may be taken against them for violations; (c) With regard to certification and a compliance plan- (1) (i) Require the apparent successful offeror to provide, before contract award, a certification (see 52.222-56 ) that the offeror has a compliance plan if any portion of the contract or subcontract- (A) Is for supplies, other than COTS items (see 2.101 ), to be acquired outside the United States, or services to be performed outside the United States; and (B) The estimated value exceeds $700,000. (ii) The certification must state that- (A) The offeror has implemented the plan and has implemented procedures to prevent any prohibited activities and to monitor, detect, and terminate the contract with a subcontractor or agent engaging in prohibited activities; and (B) After having conducted due diligence, either- (1) To the best of the offeror’s knowledge and belief, neither it nor any of its agents, proposed subcontractors, or their agents, has engaged in any such activities; or (2) If abuses relating to any of the prohibited activities identified in 52.222-50 (b) have been found, the offeror or proposed subcontractor has taken the appropriate remedial and referral actions; (2) Require annual certifications (see 52.222-50 (h)(5)) during performance of the contract, when a compliance plan was required at award; (3) (i) Require the contractor to obtain a certification from each subcontractor, prior to award of a subcontract, if any portion of the subcontract- (A) Is for supplies, other than COTS items (see 2.101 ), to be acquired outside the United States, or services to be performed outside the United States; and (B) The estimated value exceeds $700,000. (ii) The certification must state that- (A) The subcontractor has implemented a compliance plan; and (B) After having conducted due diligence, either- (1) To the best of the subcontractor’s knowledge and belief, neither it nor any of its agents, subcontractors, or their agents, has engaged in any such activities; or (2) If abuses relating to any of the prohibited activities identified in 52.222-50 (b) have been found, the subcontractor has taken the appropriate remedial and referral actions; (4) Require the contractor to obtain annual certifications from subcontractors during performance of the contract, when a compliance plan was required at the time of subcontract award; and (5) Require that any compliance plan or procedures shall be appropriate to the size and complexity of the contract and the nature and scope of its activities, including the number of non-U.S. citizens expected to be employed and the risk that the contract or subcontract will involve services or supplies susceptible to trafficking in persons. The minimum elements of the plan are specified at 52.222-50 (h); (d) Require the contractor and subcontractors to- (1) Disclose to the contracting officer and the agency Inspector General information sufficient to identify the nature and extent of an offense and the individuals responsible for the conduct; (2) Provide timely and complete responses to Government auditors’ and investigators’ requests for documents; (3) Cooperate fully in providing reasonable access to their facilities and staff (both inside and outside the U.S.) to allow contracting agencies and other responsible Federal agencies to conduct audits, investigations, or other actions to ascertain compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act ( 22 U.S.C. chapter 78 ), Executive Order 13627, or any other applicable law or regulation establishing restrictions on trafficking in persons, the procurement of commercial sex acts, or the use of forced labor; and (4) Protect all employees suspected of being victims of or witnesses to prohibited activities, prior to returning to the country from which the employee was recruited, and shall not prevent or hinder the ability of these employees from cooperating fully with Government authorities; and (e) Provide suitable remedies, including termination, to be imposed on contractors that fail to comply with the requirements of paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section.