FAR 3.906—Contract clause.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 3.906 is a contract-clause prescription rule. It tells contracting officers when they must include the whistleblower rights clause at FAR 52.203-17, Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights, in solicitations and contracts. The section is narrow but important because it implements contractor employee whistleblower protections by making the required notice part of the contract. In practice, this means the clause must be flowed into covered procurements so contractor employees are informed of their rights and contractors are on notice that retaliation-related requirements apply. The section also identifies important exclusions: the clause is not inserted in solicitations and contracts for DoD, NASA, the Coast Guard, or applicable elements of the intelligence community, because those entities are covered by separate rules under FAR 3.900(a).
Key Rules
Insert the whistleblower clause
The contracting officer must include FAR 52.203-17, Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights, in solicitations and contracts. This is a mandatory prescription, not a discretionary one, for covered procurements.
Applies to solicitations and contracts
The requirement covers both solicitations and resulting contracts, so the clause must be present at the solicitation stage and carried into the contract when awarded.
Specific agency exclusions
The clause is not inserted for solicitations and contracts of DoD, NASA, the Coast Guard, or applicable elements of the intelligence community. Those entities are excluded because they are addressed separately in FAR 3.900(a).
Purpose is employee notice and protection
The clause serves to notify contractor employees of whistleblower rights and to reinforce protections against retaliation for making protected disclosures. Its practical effect is to make those rights an express contract requirement.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Insert FAR 52.203-17 in all covered solicitations and contracts, and confirm the clause is omitted only when the procurement falls within the listed exclusions.
Contractor
Comply with the whistleblower rights clause when it is included, including ensuring employees are not retaliated against for protected disclosures and that the required rights are respected in contract performance.
Agency
Apply the correct agency-specific coverage rules and ensure contracting personnel know when the FAR clause is required versus when separate statutory or regulatory regimes apply.
Practical Implications
This is a clause-prescription requirement, so missing it is a compliance error that can affect solicitation and contract administration.
Contracting officers should check agency coverage carefully; the DoD/NASA/Coast Guard/intelligence-community exclusion is easy to overlook.
Contractors should treat the clause as an operational compliance item, not just boilerplate, because it creates enforceable whistleblower-related obligations.
If the clause is omitted from a covered procurement, the agency may need to correct the solicitation or contract to ensure the required rights notice is included.
Because the rule is limited to clause insertion, users should look to FAR 52.203-17 and related whistleblower provisions for the substantive employee rights and contractor obligations.
Official Regulatory Text
The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.203-17 , Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights, in all solicitations and contracts, except solicitations and contracts of DoD, NASA, the Coast Guard, or applicable elements of the intelligence community (see 3.900 (a)).