However, a successor contractor or subcontractor would not be required to offer employment to any employee on the predecessor contract if: (1) the predecessor contractor will retain the employee, (2) the employee performs in an executive, administrative or professional capacity and is not a service employee, (3) there is reliable evidence of a particular employee’s past performance which would justify not hiring the employee, (4) the employee performs a single job under the predecessor’s federal service contract (or a nonfederal service contract), or (5) the successor contractor has staffing requirement changes. The parameters of the latter exception remain to be determined and could be the subject of future disputes.
The final rule explains some notable differences between Executive Order 13495 and Executive Order 14055. The time limit for an employee to accept an employment offer changed from 10 calendar days to 10 business days. Unlike the previous rule, this rule applies even if the successor contract is not performed at the same location as the predecessor contract. This rule requires agencies to publish descriptions of each exception on a centralized public website and report exceptions to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on a quarterly basis.
Contractors subject to Executive Order 14055 should carefully review this rule to determine if they are subject to the rule’s requirements.