FAR 52.242-14—Suspension of Work.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 52.242-14, Suspension of Work, is a clause used in fixed-price construction and architect-engineer contracts to address government-caused work stoppages or slowdowns. It gives the Contracting Officer the authority to order the contractor, in writing, to suspend, delay, or interrupt all or part of the work for the Government’s convenience, and it also creates a remedy when an unreasonable suspension, delay, or interruption is caused by the Contracting Officer’s acts or failure to act. The clause covers when the government may direct a suspension, when the contractor may recover increased performance costs (but not profit), how causation is limited by other causes or other contract remedies, and the notice and timing requirements for asserting a claim. In practice, this clause is important because it allocates risk for government-caused delays, protects contractors from uncompensated cost growth caused by unreasonable administrative delay, and requires prompt written notice and documentation to preserve recovery rights. It is a common issue on construction and A-E projects where design approvals, access, funding, site conditions, or other government actions can slow performance.
Key Rules
Applies to specific contracts
This clause is prescribed for fixed-price construction and architect-engineer contracts when those contract types are contemplated. It is not a general-purpose delay clause for all contract types.
CO may order suspension
The Contracting Officer may direct the contractor in writing to suspend, delay, or interrupt all or part of the work for the Government’s convenience. The order must be written and may cover any portion of the work for a period the CO considers appropriate.
Recovery requires unreasonable government-caused delay
If work is suspended, delayed, or interrupted for an unreasonable period because of the Contracting Officer’s act in administering the contract or failure to act within the required time, the contractor is entitled to an adjustment for increased cost of performance necessarily caused by that unreasonable delay, excluding profit.
No double recovery or contractor-caused costs
No adjustment is allowed to the extent the delay would have occurred anyway from another cause, including the contractor’s fault or negligence. The clause also bars recovery where another contract term already provides, or excludes, an equitable adjustment for the same event.
Written contract modification required
Any allowed adjustment must be reflected in a written contract modification. The clause does not itself change the contract price or time; it establishes the basis for an equitable adjustment that must be documented.
Notice is required to preserve claims
The contractor generally cannot recover costs incurred more than 20 days before written notice to the Contracting Officer of the act or failure to act, unless the claim results from a suspension order. The contractor must also assert the claim in writing, with an amount stated, as soon as practicable after the suspension ends and no later than final payment.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
May issue a written order suspending, delaying, or interrupting work for the Government’s convenience. Must act within the time specified in the contract, or within a reasonable time if no time is specified, because failure to act can trigger an equitable adjustment if the delay becomes unreasonable. Must process any valid adjustment through a written contract modification.
Contractor
Must comply with a written suspension, delay, or interruption order. Must track and document increased costs caused by the unreasonable government delay, excluding profit and excluding costs attributable to other causes. Must give timely written notice of the act or failure to act, and must submit a written claim stating an amount as soon as practicable after the delay ends and before final payment.
Agency/Government
Must manage contract administration so that required approvals, decisions, access, and other government actions occur within the contract timeframes or a reasonable time. Must recognize that unreasonable administrative delay can create liability for increased performance costs under the clause.
Practical Implications
Contractors should treat any government-caused slowdown as a potential claim issue immediately, not after the job is finished, because the 20-day notice rule can limit recovery.
The clause covers cost increases, not profit, so contractors need detailed records of labor, equipment, overhead, standby, remobilization, and other actual added costs tied to the delay.
Not every delay is compensable; the contractor must separate government-caused delay from weather, subcontractor issues, site problems, or its own performance problems.
A written suspension order is different from informal direction or silence, but both can matter if the CO’s act or failure to act causes an unreasonable delay.
Contracting officers should avoid unnecessary administrative delays and should document the reason for any suspension, because poor documentation can complicate later equitable adjustment analysis.
Official Regulatory Text
As prescribed in 42.1305 (a) , insert the following clause in solicitations and contracts when a fixed-price construction or architect-engineer contract is contemplated: Suspension of Work (Apr 1984) (a) The Contracting Officer may order the Contractor, in writing, to suspend, delay, or interrupt all or any part of the work of this contract for the period of time that the Contracting Officer determines appropriate for the convenience of the Government. (b) If the performance of all or any part of the work is, for an unreasonable period of time, suspended, delayed, or interrupted (1)by an act of the Contracting Officer in the administration of this contract, or (2)by the Contracting Officer’s failure to act within the time specified in this contract (or within a reasonable time if not specified), an adjustment shall be made for any increase in the cost of performance of this contract (excluding profit) necessarily caused by the unreasonable suspension, delay, or interruption, and the contract modified in writing accordingly. However, no adjustment shall be made under this clause for any suspension, delay, or interruption to the extent that performance would have been so suspended, delayed, or interrupted by any other cause, including the fault or negligence of the Contractor, or for which an equitable adjustment is provided for or excluded under any other term or condition of this contract. (c) A claim under this clause shall not be allowed- (1) For any costs incurred more than 20 days before the Contractor shall have notified the Contracting Officer in writing of the act or failure to act involved (but this requirement shall not apply as to a claim resulting from a suspension order); and (2) Unless the claim, in an amount stated, is asserted in writing as soon as practicable after the termination of the suspension, delay, or interruption, but not later than the date of final payment under the contract. (End of clause)