80 FR 8119 - Contract Standard for Contractor Workforce Inclusion and Request for Public Comment

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 30 (February 13, 2015)

Page Range		8119-8122
FR Document		2015-03082
To implement section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the ``Dodd-Frank Act'' or ``the Act''), the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ``Commission'') is proposing to include in its service contracts a standard concerning workforce inclusion of minorities and women.
Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 30 (Friday, February 13, 2015)
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8119-8122]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03082]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-74239; File No. S7-02-15]


Contract Standard for Contractor Workforce Inclusion and Request 
for Public Comment

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed contract standard; notice of proposed 
information collection; and request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: To implement section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 
and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the ``Dodd-Frank Act'' or ``the 
Act''), the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ``Commission'') is 
proposing to include in its service contracts a standard concerning 
workforce inclusion of minorities and women.

DATES: Comments should be received on or before: April 14, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/other.shtml);
     Send an email to [email protected]. Please include 
File No. S7-02-15 on the subject line; or
     Use the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov). Follow instructions for submitting comments.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, 
Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 
20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File No. S7-02-15. This file number 
should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help us 
process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one 
method. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission's 
Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/other.shtml). Comments will 
also be available for Web site viewing and printing in the Commission's 
Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549 on 
official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. 
All comments received will be posted without change; we do not edit 
personal identifying information from submissions. You should submit 
only information that you wish to make available publicly.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela A. Gibbs, Director, Office of 
Minority and Women Inclusion, or Audrey B. Little, Senior Counsel, 
Office of Minority and Women Inclusion at (202) 551-6046, Securities 
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 342(a)(1)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Act 
provides for certain agencies, including the Securities and Exchange 
Commission, to establish an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion 
(``OMWI'').\1\ Section 342(c)(1) provides that the OMWI Director shall 
develop and implement standards and procedures to ensure the fair 
inclusion and utilization of minorities, women, and minority-owned and 
women-owned businesses in all business and activities of the agency, 
including in procurement, insurance, and all types of contracts. 
Section 342(c)(2) requires that the OMWI Director include in the 
procedures for evaluating contract proposals and hiring service 
providers a component that gives consideration to the diversity of an 
applicant, to the extent consistent with applicable laws. In addition, 
section 342(c)(2) requires that such procedures include a written 
statement, in the form and content prescribed by the OMWI Director, 
that a contractor shall ensure, to the maximum extent possible, the 
fair inclusion of women and minorities in the workforce of the 
contractor and, as applicable, subcontractors.
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    \1\ 12 U.S.C. 5452.
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    Further, section 342(c)(3)(A) requires the OMWI Director to 
establish standards and procedures for determining whether an agency 
contractor or subcontractor ``has failed to make a good faith effort to 
include minorities and women'' in its workforce. Section 
342(c)(3)(B)(i) provides that if the OMWI Director determines that a 
contractor has failed to make good faith efforts, the Director shall 
recommend to the agency administrator that the contract be terminated. 
Upon receipt of such a recommendation, section 342(c)(3)(B)(ii) 
provides that the agency administrator may terminate the contract, make 
a referral to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs of the 
Department of Labor, or take other appropriate action.
    Under section 342(c)(3)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Act, the OMWI Director 
is required to determine whether a contractor or subcontractor has made 
good faith efforts to include minorities and women in its workforce. 
The proposed Contract Standard would require that a Commission 
contractor, upon request from the OMWI Director, provide documentation 
of the actions undertaken (and as applicable, the actions each covered 
subcontractor under the contract has undertaken) that demonstrate its 
good faith efforts to ensure the fair inclusion of minorities and women 
in its workforce. The documentation requested may include, but is not 
limited to: (1) The total number of employees in the contractor's 
workforce, and the number of employees by race, ethnicity, gender, and 
job title or EEO-1 job category (e.g., EEO-1 Report(s)); (2) a list of 
covered subcontract awards under the contract that includes the dollar 
amount of each subcontract, date of award, and the subcontractor's 
race, ethnicity, and/or gender ownership status; (3) the contractor's 
plan to ensure the fair inclusion of minorities and women in its 
workforce, including outreach efforts; and (4) for each covered 
subcontractor, the information requested in items 1 and 3 above. The 
OMWI Director will consider the information submitted in evaluating 
whether the contractor or subcontractor has complied with its 
contractual obligation to make good faith efforts to ensure the fair 
inclusion of minorities and women in its workforce.
    The Commission's proposes to satisfy section 342(c)(2) through the 
inclusion of a contract standard concerning workforce inclusion of 
minorities and women (the ``Contract Standard'') in solicitations and 
resulting contracts for services with a dollar value of $100,000 or 
more. The proposed Contract Standard is similar to the contract clauses 
adopted by OMWIs of other federal financial regulatory agencies.\2\ The 
Contract Standard requires the service contractor, upon entering into a 
contract with the Commission, to confirm that it will ensure, to the 
maximum extent possible and consistent with applicable law, the fair 
inclusion of minorities and women in its workforce. In addition, the 
proposed

[[Page 8120]]

Contract Standard requires the contractor to include the substance of 
the Contract Standard in all subcontracts for services awarded under 
the contract with a dollar value of $100,000 or more. Accordingly, the 
requirements of the proposed Contract Standard will apply to covered 
subcontractors, as prescribed in section 342(c)(2) of the Dodd-Frank 
Act.
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    \2\ See Department of the Treasury Acquisition Regulations; 
Contract Clause on Minority and Women Inclusion in Contractor 
Workforce, 79 FR 15551, at http://www.thefederalregister.org/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-03-20/pdf/2014-05846.pdf.
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    The proposed Contract Standard requires a contractor to provide 
documentation, upon the request of the OMWI Director, to demonstrate 
that it has made good faith efforts to ensure the fair inclusion of 
minorities and women in its workforce and, as applicable, to 
demonstrate that its covered subcontractors have made such good faith 
efforts. ``Good faith efforts'' are interpreted to include actions by a 
contractor (and, as applicable, actions by each covered subcontractor) 
to ensure the fair inclusion of women and minorities in its workforce, 
while at the same time identifying, and if present, removing barriers 
to minority and women employment or expansion of employment 
opportunities for minorities and women within its workforce. Efforts to 
remove such barriers may include, but are not limited to, recruiting to 
ensure that applicant pools include minorities and women, providing 
job-related training, or other activity that could lead to removing 
such barriers.
    Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act applies to ``all contracts of 
[the Commission] for services of any kind,'' but the section does not 
define the term ``contract.'' FAR 37.101 defines ``service contract'' 
as a ``contract that directly engages the time and effort of a 
contractor whose primary purpose is to perform an identifiable task 
rather than to furnish an end item of supply.'' Pursuant to the FAR 
definition, this proposed Contract Standard will be included in all 
Commission solicitations and resulting contracts for services with a 
dollar value of $100,000 or more, and in all subcontracts under the 
related prime contract for services with a dollar value of $100,000 or 
more.

Public Comment

    The proposed Contract Standard is being published for public 
comment pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 1707, which applies to the publication of 
a covered federal procurement policy, regulation, procedure or form. 
Section 1707 provides that a procurement policy, regulation, procedure 
or form (including an amendment or modification thereof) is to be 
published for public comment in the Federal Register if it relates to 
the expenditure of appropriated funds, and has either a significant 
effect beyond the internal operating procedures of the agency issuing 
the policy, regulation, procedure or form, or has a significant cost or 
administrative impact on contractors or offerors.
    Here, the proposed Contract Standard relates to the expenditure of 
appropriated funds of the Commission, because it will be incorporated 
in certain Commission service contracts paid for with appropriated 
funds. The Contract Standard may have a significant effect beyond the 
internal operating procedures of the agency, as it implements 
requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act designed to address minority and 
women inclusion by federal contractors and implements the new contract 
termination authority contained in section 342(c)(3). The proposed 
Contract Standard may also have a cost or administrative impact on 
contractors or offerors, but we believe these effects would be 
insignificant as a result of the overlap with existing EEO laws. The 
consequence for non-compliance could have a cost or administrative 
impact on the covered service contractors, although they again overlap 
with existing remedies.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The proposed Contract Standard contains ``collection of 
information'' requirements within the meaning of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (``PRA'').\3\ The title for the proposed 
collection of information is:
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    \3\ 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
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     Contract Standard for Contractor Workforce Inclusion.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. We intend to submit these 
requirements to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for 
review and approval in accordance with the PRA and its implementing 
regulations.\4\ If approved, the responses to the new collection of 
information would be mandatory. For collections of information not 
contained in a proposed rule, the PRA requires federal agencies to 
publish a notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed 
collection of information and to allow 60 days for public comment.\5\ 
To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice.
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    \4\ 44 U.S.C. 3507(c); 5 CFR 1320.10.
    \5\ 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2).
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A. Overview of Information Collection

1. Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use
    Under section 342(c)(3)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Act, the OMWI Director 
is required to determine whether a contractor or subcontractor has made 
good faith efforts to include minorities and women in its workforce. 
The proposed Contract Standard would require that a Commission 
contractor, upon request from the OMWI Director, provide documentation 
of the actions undertaken (and as applicable, the actions each covered 
subcontractor under the contract has undertaken) that demonstrate its 
good faith efforts to ensure the fair inclusion of minorities and women 
in its workforce. The documentation requested may include, but is not 
limited to: (1) The total number of employees in the contractor's 
workforce, and the number of employees by race, ethnicity, gender, and 
job title or EEO-1 job category (e.g., EEO-1 Report(s)); (2) a list of 
covered subcontract awards under the contract that includes the dollar 
amount of each subcontract, date of award, and the subcontractor's 
race, ethnicity, and/or gender ownership status; (3) the contractor's 
plan to ensure the fair inclusion of minorities and women in its 
workforce, including outreach efforts; and (4) for each covered 
subcontractor, the information requested in items 1 and 3 above. The 
OMWI Director will consider the information submitted in evaluating 
whether the contractor or subcontractor has complied with its 
contractual obligation to make good faith efforts to ensure the fair 
inclusion of minorities and women in its workforce.
2. Respondents and Estimate of Recordkeeping and Reporting Burdens
    The proposed Contract Standard will be included in Commission 
contracts and subcontracts for services with a dollar value of $100,000 
or more. Based on the data showing the dollar value of service 
contracts and subcontracts awarded in FY 2012 and FY 2013, we estimate 
that 170 contractors \6\ would be subject to the proposed Contract 
Standard. Approximately 120 of these contractors have 50 or more 
employees, while about 50 contractors have fewer than 50 employees.
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    \6\ Unless otherwise specified, the term ``contractors'' refers 
to contractors and subcontractors.
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a. Recordkeeping Burden
    The information collection under the proposed Contract Standard 
would

[[Page 8121]]

impose no new recordkeeping burdens on the estimated 120 contractors 
that have 50 or more employees. Such contractors are generally subject 
to recordkeeping and reporting requirements under the regulations 
implementing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act \7\ and Executive Order 
11246 (``E.O. 11246'').\8\ Their contracts and subcontracts must 
include the clause implementing E.O. 11246--FAR 52.222-26, Equal 
Opportunity. In addition, contractors that have 50 or more employees 
(and a contract or subcontract of $50,000 or more) are required to 
maintain records on the race, ethnicity, gender, and EEO-1 job category 
of each employee under Department of Labor regulations implementing 
E.O. 11246.\9\ The regulations implementing E.O. 11246 also require 
contractors that have 50 or more employees (and a contract or 
subcontract of $50,000 or more) to demonstrate that they have made good 
faith efforts to remove identified barriers, expand employment 
opportunities, and produce measurable results,\10\ and to develop and 
maintain a written program, which describes the policies, practices, 
and procedures that the contractor uses to ensure that applicants and 
employees receive equal opportunities for employment and 
advancement.\11\ In lieu of developing a separate workforce inclusion 
plan, a contractor would be permitted to submit its existing written 
program prescribed by the E.O. 11246 regulations as part of the 
documentation that demonstrates the contractor's good faith efforts to 
ensure the fair inclusion of minorities and women in its workforce. 
Thus, approximately 120 contractors are already required to maintain 
the information that may be requested under the proposed Contract 
Standard.
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    \7\ 42 U.S.C. 2000e, et seq.
    \8\ Executive Order 11246, 30 FR 12,319 (Sept. 24, 1965).
    \9\ See 41 CFR 60-1.7.
    \10\ See 41 CFR 60-2.17(c).
    \11\ See 41 CFR part 60-2.
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    The estimated 50 contractors that employ fewer than 50 employees 
are required under the regulations implementing E.O. 11246 to maintain 
records showing the race, ethnicity and gender of each employee. We 
believe that these contractors also keep job title information during 
the normal course of business. However, contractors that have fewer 
than 50 employees may not have the written program prescribed by the 
E.O. 11246 regulations or similar plan that could be submitted as part 
of the documentation to demonstrate their good faith efforts to ensure 
the fair inclusion of minorities and women in their workforces. 
Accordingly, contractors with fewer than 50 employees may have to 
create a plan to ensure workforce inclusion of minorities and women.
    In order to estimate the burden on contractors associated with 
creating a workforce inclusion plan, we considered the burden estimates 
for developing the written programs required under the regulations 
implementing E.O. 11246.\12\ As there is no regulatory blueprint for a 
workforce inclusion plan, and contractors creating a workforce 
inclusion plan are not required to perform the same types of analyses 
required for the written programs prescribed by the E.O. 11246 
regulations, we believe that to develop a workforce inclusion plan 
contractors with fewer than 50 employees would require approximately a 
third of the hours that contractors of similar size spend on developing 
the written programs required under the E.O. 11246 regulations. 
Accordingly, we estimate that contractors would spend about 24 hours of 
employee resources to develop a workforce inclusion plan. This would be 
a one-time total burden of 1,200 hours. After the initial development, 
we estimate that each contractor with fewer than 50 employees would 
spend approximately 10 hours each year updating and maintaining its 
workforce inclusion plan for a total annual burden of 500 hours. To 
account for this expected diminishing burden, we use a three-year 
average of the expected burden during the first year with the expected 
ongoing burden during the next two years to estimate the annual 
recordkeeping burden on contractors with fewer than 50 employees. Thus, 
we estimate that the total annual recordkeeping burden for such 
contractors to be about 740 hours [(1,200 + 500 + 500)/3 years, rounded 
up].
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    \12\ According to the Supporting Statement for the OFCCP 
Recordkeeping and Requirements-Supply Service, OMB Control No. 1250-
003 (``Supporting Statement''), it takes approximately 73 burden 
hours for contractors with 1-100 employees to develop the initial 
written program required under the regulations implementing E.O. 
11246. We understand the quantitative analyses prescribed by the 
Executive Order regulations at 41 CFR part 60-2 are a time-consuming 
aspect of the written program development. As there is no 
requirement to perform these types of quantitative analyses in 
connection with a workforce inclusion plan under the proposed 
Contract Standard, we believe the workforce inclusion plan will take 
substantially fewer hours to develop. The Supporting Statement is 
available at reginfo.gov.
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    The proposed contract standard also would require contractors to 
maintain information about covered subcontractors' ownership status, 
workforce demographics, and workforce inclusion plans. Contractors 
would request this information from their covered subcontractors, who 
would have an obligation to keep workforce demographic data and 
maintain workforce inclusion plans because the substance of the 
proposed Contract Standard would be included in their subcontracts. 
Based on data describing recent Commission subcontractor activity, we 
believe that very few subcontractors will have subcontracts under 
Commission service contracts with a dollar value of $100,000 or 
more.\13\ These subcontractors may already be subject to similar 
recordkeeping requirements as principal contractors. Consequently, we 
believe that any additional requirements imposed on subcontractors 
would not significantly add to the burden estimates discussed above.
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    \13\ A search of subcontract awards on the usaspending.gov Web 
site showed that four subcontractors in FY 2012 and three 
subcontractors in FY 2013 had subcontracts of $100K or more. See 
data on subcontract awards available at http://usaspending.gov.
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b. Reporting Burden
    With respect to the reporting burden, we estimate that it would 
take all contractors on average approximately one hour to retrieve and 
submit to the OMWI Director the documentation specified in the proposed 
Contract Standard. We expect to request documentation from up to 100 
contractors each year and therefore we estimate the total annual 
reporting burden to be 100 hours.

B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    We request comments on the proposed collection of information in 
order to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Commission, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the 
burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) determine whether there are ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(d) evaluate whether there are ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Persons who desire to submit comments on the collection of 
information may use any of the methods shown in the ADDRESSES section 
of this notice. Comments should be received on

[[Page 8122]]

or before: April 14, 2015. Comments submitted in response to this 
notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB 
approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter 
of public record.

Text of Proposed Contract Standard for Contractor Workforce Inclusion

    Note:  The Text of this Proposed Contract Standard will not 
appear in the Code of Federal Regulations.

Contractor Workforce Inclusion

    Authority:  12 U.S.C. 5452; Sec. 342, Pub. L. 111-203.

Scope

    The agency will include the Contractor Workforce Inclusion contract 
standard in all Commission solicitations and resulting contracts for 
services with a dollar value of $100,000 or more.

Contract Standard

    The following contract standard shall be included in all Commission 
solicitations and resulting contracts for services with a dollar value 
of $100,000 or more.
Contractor Workforce Inclusion
    The Contractor confirms its commitment to equal opportunity in 
employment and contracting, and that it shall ensure, to the maximum 
extent possible and consistent with applicable law, the fair inclusion 
of minorities and women in its workforce.
    The Contractor shall insert the substance of this contract standard 
in each subcontract for services awarded for performance of this 
contract with a dollar value of $100,000 or more.
    Within ten (10) business days of a written request from the 
Director of the Commission's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion 
(OMWI Director) or designee, or such longer time as the OMWI Director 
or designee determines, and without any additional consideration, 
action or authorization required from the OMWI Director, the Contractor 
shall provide documentation, satisfactory to the OMWI Director, of the 
actions it has undertaken (and as applicable, the actions each covered 
subcontractor under the contract has undertaken) to demonstrate its 
good faith efforts to comply with the aforementioned provisions.
    For purposes of this contract, ``good faith efforts'' shall include 
actions by the Contractor (and as applicable, actions by each covered 
subcontractor under the Service Contract) to identify and, if present, 
remove barriers to minority and women employment or expansion of 
employment opportunities for minorities and women within its workforce. 
Efforts to remove such barriers may include, but are not limited to, 
recruiting to ensure that applicant pools include minorities and women, 
providing job-related training, or other activity that could lead to 
removing such barriers.
    The documentation requested by the OMWI Director or designee to 
demonstrate good faith efforts may include, but is not limited to, one 
or more of the following:
    a. The total number of Contractor's employees, and the number of 
employees by race, ethnicity, gender, and job title or EEO-1 Report job 
category (e.g., EEO-1 Report(s));
    b. A list of covered subcontract awards for services under the 
contract, and for each covered subcontract award, the dollar amount, 
date of award, and the subcontractor's race, ethnicity, and/or gender 
ownership status;
    c. The contractor's plan for ensuring the fair inclusion of 
minorities and women in its workforce, including outreach efforts; and
    d. For each covered subcontractor, the documentation specified in 
paragraphs a. and c. above.
    Consistent with Section 342(c)(3) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street 
Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the ``Dodd-Frank Act''), 12 U.S.C. 
5452(c)(3), a Contractor's failure to demonstrate to the OMWI Director 
that it has made good faith efforts to include minorities and women in 
its workforce (and as applicable, failure to demonstrate that its 
subcontractor(s) has made such good faith efforts) may result in 
termination of the contract for default after the contractor is 
provided written notice and an opportunity to cure the failure in 
accordance with the procedures set forth in FAR 49.402-3(d), other 
contractual remedies, referral to the Office of Federal Contract 
Compliance Programs (OFCCP), or other appropriate action.
    Compliance with this standard does not necessarily satisfy the 
requirements of EO 11246, as amended, nor does it preclude OFCCP 
compliance evaluations and/or enforcement actions undertaken pursuant 
to that Executive Order, or demonstrate compliance with other FAR 
clauses that may be included in this contract.
    For purposes of this contract standard, the term ``minority'' shall 
have the meaning set forth in section 342(g) of the Dodd-Frank Act.

    Dated: February 10, 2015.

    By the Commission.
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-03082 Filed 2-12-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 30 / Friday, February 13, 2015 / Notices 8119

other service fees, revenue sharing, or Commission’s Public Reference Room, referral to the Office of Federal Contract
other arrangements. 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549 Compliance Programs of the Department
For the Commission, by the Division of on official business days between the of Labor, or take other appropriate
Investment Management, under delegated hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. All action.
authority. comments received will be posted Under section 342(c)(3)(A) of the
Brent J. Fields, without change; we do not edit personal Dodd-Frank Act, the OMWI Director is
Secretary. identifying information from required to determine whether a
submissions. You should submit only contractor or subcontractor has made
[FR Doc. 2015–02992 Filed 2–12–15; 8:45 am]
information that you wish to make good faith efforts to include minorities
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
available publicly. and women in its workforce. The
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: proposed Contract Standard would
Pamela A. Gibbs, Director, Office of require that a Commission contractor,
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
Minority and Women Inclusion, or upon request from the OMWI Director,
COMMISSION
Audrey B. Little, Senior Counsel, Office provide documentation of the actions
[Release No. 34–74239; File No. S7–02–15] of Minority and Women Inclusion at undertaken (and as applicable, the
(202) 551–6046, Securities and actions each covered subcontractor
Contract Standard for Contractor under the contract has undertaken) that
Workforce Inclusion and Request for Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549. demonstrate its good faith efforts to
Public Comment ensure the fair inclusion of minorities
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange and women in its workforce. The
342(a)(1)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Act documentation requested may include,
Commission. provides for certain agencies, including but is not limited to: (1) The total
ACTION: Notice of proposed contract the Securities and Exchange number of employees in the contractor’s
standard; notice of proposed Commission, to establish an Office of workforce, and the number of
information collection; and request for Minority and Women Inclusion employees by race, ethnicity, gender,
public comment. (‘‘OMWI’’).1 Section 342(c)(1) provides and job title or EEO–1 job category (e.g.,
that the OMWI Director shall develop EEO–1 Report(s)); (2) a list of covered
SUMMARY: To implement section 342 of and implement standards and
the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and subcontract awards under the contract
procedures to ensure the fair inclusion that includes the dollar amount of each
Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the and utilization of minorities, women,
‘‘Dodd-Frank Act’’ or ‘‘the Act’’), the subcontract, date of award, and the
and minority-owned and women-owned subcontractor’s race, ethnicity, and/or
Securities and Exchange Commission businesses in all business and activities
(the ‘‘Commission’’) is proposing to gender ownership status; (3) the
of the agency, including in contractor’s plan to ensure the fair
include in its service contracts a procurement, insurance, and all types of
standard concerning workforce inclusion of minorities and women in
contracts. Section 342(c)(2) requires that its workforce, including outreach
inclusion of minorities and women. the OMWI Director include in the efforts; and (4) for each covered
DATES: Comments should be received on procedures for evaluating contract subcontractor, the information
or before: April 14, 2015. proposals and hiring service providers a requested in items 1 and 3 above. The
ADDRESSES: Comments may be component that gives consideration to OMWI Director will consider the
submitted by any of the following the diversity of an applicant, to the information submitted in evaluating
methods: extent consistent with applicable laws. whether the contractor or subcontractor
In addition, section 342(c)(2) requires has complied with its contractual
Electronic Comments that such procedures include a written obligation to make good faith efforts to
• Use the Commission’s Internet statement, in the form and content ensure the fair inclusion of minorities
comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ prescribed by the OMWI Director, that and women in its workforce.
rules/other.shtml); a contractor shall ensure, to the The Commission’s proposes to satisfy
• Send an email to rule- maximum extent possible, the fair section 342(c)(2) through the inclusion
comments@sec.gov. Please include File inclusion of women and minorities in of a contract standard concerning
No. S7–02–15 on the subject line; or the workforce of the contractor and, as workforce inclusion of minorities and
• Use the Federal eRulemaking Portal applicable, subcontractors. women (the ‘‘Contract Standard’’) in
(http://www.regulations.gov). Follow Further, section 342(c)(3)(A) requires solicitations and resulting contracts for
instructions for submitting comments. the OMWI Director to establish services with a dollar value of $100,000
Paper Comments standards and procedures for or more. The proposed Contract
determining whether an agency Standard is similar to the contract
• Send paper comments to Brent J. contractor or subcontractor ‘‘has failed clauses adopted by OMWIs of other
Fields, Secretary, Securities and to make a good faith effort to include federal financial regulatory agencies.2
Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., minorities and women’’ in its The Contract Standard requires the
Washington, DC 20549–1090. workforce. Section 342(c)(3)(B)(i) service contractor, upon entering into a
All submissions should refer to File No. provides that if the OMWI Director contract with the Commission, to
S7–02–15. This file number should be determines that a contractor has failed confirm that it will ensure, to the
included on the subject line if email is to make good faith efforts, the Director maximum extent possible and
used. To help us process and review shall recommend to the agency consistent with applicable law, the fair
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

your comments more efficiently, please administrator that the contract be inclusion of minorities and women in
use only one method. The Commission terminated. Upon receipt of such a its workforce. In addition, the proposed
will post all comments on the recommendation, section 342(c)(3)(B)(ii)
Commission’s Internet Web site (http:// provides that the agency administrator 2 See Department of the Treasury Acquisition

www.sec.gov/rules/other.shtml). Regulations; Contract Clause on Minority and
may terminate the contract, make a Women Inclusion in Contractor Workforce, 79 FR
Comments will also be available for 15551, at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-
Web site viewing and printing in the 1 12 U.S.C. 5452. 03-20/pdf/2014-05846.pdf.

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8120 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 30 / Friday, February 13, 2015 / Notices

Contract Standard requires the has either a significant effect beyond the A. Overview of Information Collection
contractor to include the substance of internal operating procedures of the
1. Description of the Need for the
the Contract Standard in all agency issuing the policy, regulation, Information and Proposed Use
subcontracts for services awarded under procedure or form, or has a significant
the contract with a dollar value of cost or administrative impact on Under section 342(c)(3)(A) of the
$100,000 or more. Accordingly, the contractors or offerors. Dodd-Frank Act, the OMWI Director is
requirements of the proposed Contract required to determine whether a
Standard will apply to covered Here, the proposed Contract Standard contractor or subcontractor has made
subcontractors, as prescribed in section relates to the expenditure of good faith efforts to include minorities
342(c)(2) of the Dodd-Frank Act. appropriated funds of the Commission, and women in its workforce. The
The proposed Contract Standard because it will be incorporated in proposed Contract Standard would
requires a contractor to provide certain Commission service contracts require that a Commission contractor,
documentation, upon the request of the paid for with appropriated funds. The upon request from the OMWI Director,
OMWI Director, to demonstrate that it Contract Standard may have a provide documentation of the actions
has made good faith efforts to ensure the significant effect beyond the internal undertaken (and as applicable, the
fair inclusion of minorities and women operating procedures of the agency, as it actions each covered subcontractor
in its workforce and, as applicable, to implements requirements of the Dodd- under the contract has undertaken) that
demonstrate that its covered Frank Act designed to address minority demonstrate its good faith efforts to
subcontractors have made such good and women inclusion by federal ensure the fair inclusion of minorities
faith efforts. ‘‘Good faith efforts’’ are contractors and implements the new and women in its workforce. The
interpreted to include actions by a contract termination authority documentation requested may include,
contractor (and, as applicable, actions contained in section 342(c)(3). The but is not limited to: (1) The total
by each covered subcontractor) to proposed Contract Standard may also number of employees in the contractor’s
ensure the fair inclusion of women and workforce, and the number of
have a cost or administrative impact on
minorities in its workforce, while at the employees by race, ethnicity, gender,
contractors or offerors, but we believe
same time identifying, and if present, and job title or EEO–1 job category (e.g.,
removing barriers to minority and these effects would be insignificant as a
result of the overlap with existing EEO EEO–1 Report(s)); (2) a list of covered
women employment or expansion of subcontract awards under the contract
employment opportunities for laws. The consequence for non-
that includes the dollar amount of each
minorities and women within its compliance could have a cost or
subcontract, date of award, and the
workforce. Efforts to remove such administrative impact on the covered
subcontractor’s race, ethnicity, and/or
barriers may include, but are not limited service contractors, although they again
gender ownership status; (3) the
to, recruiting to ensure that applicant overlap with existing remedies. contractor’s plan to ensure the fair
pools include minorities and women, Paperwork Reduction Act inclusion of minorities and women in
providing job-related training, or other its workforce, including outreach
activity that could lead to removing The proposed Contract Standard efforts; and (4) for each covered
such barriers. contains ‘‘collection of information’’ subcontractor, the information
Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act requirements within the meaning of the requested in items 1 and 3 above. The
applies to ‘‘all contracts of [the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 OMWI Director will consider the
Commission] for services of any kind,’’ information submitted in evaluating
(‘‘PRA’’).3 The title for the proposed
but the section does not define the term whether the contractor or subcontractor
collection of information is:
‘‘contract.’’ FAR 37.101 defines ‘‘service has complied with its contractual
contract’’ as a ‘‘contract that directly • Contract Standard for Contractor
Workforce Inclusion. obligation to make good faith efforts to
engages the time and effort of a
ensure the fair inclusion of minorities
contractor whose primary purpose is to An agency may not conduct or and women in its workforce.
perform an identifiable task rather than sponsor, and a person is not required to
to furnish an end item of supply.’’ respond to a collection of information 2. Respondents and Estimate of
Pursuant to the FAR definition, this unless it displays a currently valid OMB Recordkeeping and Reporting Burdens
proposed Contract Standard will be control number. We intend to submit The proposed Contract Standard will
included in all Commission solicitations be included in Commission contracts
these requirements to the Office of
and resulting contracts for services with and subcontracts for services with a
Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for
a dollar value of $100,000 or more, and dollar value of $100,000 or more. Based
review and approval in accordance with
in all subcontracts under the related on the data showing the dollar value of
prime contract for services with a dollar the PRA and its implementing
regulations.4 If approved, the responses service contracts and subcontracts
value of $100,000 or more. awarded in FY 2012 and FY 2013, we
to the new collection of information
Public Comment would be mandatory. For collections of estimate that 170 contractors 6 would be
The proposed Contract Standard is information not contained in a proposed subject to the proposed Contract
being published for public comment rule, the PRA requires federal agencies Standard. Approximately 120 of these
pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 1707, which to publish a notice in the Federal contractors have 50 or more employees,
applies to the publication of a covered Register concerning each proposed while about 50 contractors have fewer
federal procurement policy, regulation, collection of information and to allow than 50 employees.
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

procedure or form. Section 1707 60 days for public comment.5 To a. Recordkeeping Burden
provides that a procurement policy, comply with this requirement, we are The information collection under the
regulation, procedure or form (including publishing this notice. proposed Contract Standard would
an amendment or modification thereof)
is to be published for public comment 3 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 6 Unless otherwise specified, the term
in the Federal Register if it relates to the 4 44 U.S.C. 3507(c); 5 CFR 1320.10. ‘‘contractors’’ refers to contractors and
expenditure of appropriated funds, and 5 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). subcontractors.

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8122 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 30 / Friday, February 13, 2015 / Notices

or before: April 14, 2015. Comments expansion of employment opportunities By the Commission.
submitted in response to this notice will for minorities and women within its Brent J. Fields,
be summarized and/or included in the workforce. Efforts to remove such Secretary.
request for OMB approval of this barriers may include, but are not limited [FR Doc. 2015–03082 Filed 2–12–15; 8:45 am]
information collection; they also will to, recruiting to ensure that applicant BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
become a matter of public record. pools include minorities and women,
providing job-related training, or other
Text of Proposed Contract Standard for
activity that could lead to removing
Contractor Workforce Inclusion
such barriers. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Note: The Text of this Proposed Contract The documentation requested by the
Standard will not appear in the Code of OMWI Director or designee to Reporting and recordkeeping
Federal Regulations. demonstrate good faith efforts may requirements under OMB review
include, but is not limited to, one or
Contractor Workforce Inclusion AGENCY: Small Business Administration.
more of the following:
ACTION: 30-Day notice.
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 5452; Sec. 342, Pub. a. The total number of Contractor’s
L. 111–203. employees, and the number of SUMMARY: The Small Business
employees by race, ethnicity, gender, Administration (SBA) is publishing this
Scope and job title or EEO–1 Report job notice to comply with requirements of
The agency will include the category (e.g., EEO–1 Report(s)); the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44
Contractor Workforce Inclusion contract b. A list of covered subcontract U.S.C. Chapter 35), which requires
standard in all Commission solicitations awards for services under the contract, agencies to submit proposed reporting
and resulting contracts for services with and for each covered subcontract award, and recordkeeping requirements to
a dollar value of $100,000 or more. the dollar amount, date of award, and OMB for review and approval, and to
Contract Standard the subcontractor’s race, ethnicity, and/ publish a notice in the Federal Register
or gender ownership status; notifying the public that the agency has
The following contract standard shall made such a submission. This notice
c. The contractor’s plan for ensuring
be included in all Commission also allows an additional 30 days for
the fair inclusion of minorities and
solicitations and resulting contracts for public comments.
women in its workforce, including
services with a dollar value of $100,000
outreach efforts; and DATES: Submit comments on or before
or more.
d. For each covered subcontractor, the March 16, 2015.
Contractor Workforce Inclusion documentation specified in paragraphs ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to
The Contractor confirms its a. and c. above. the information collection by name and/
commitment to equal opportunity in Consistent with Section 342(c)(3) of or OMB Control Number and should be
employment and contracting, and that it the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and sent to: Agency Clearance Officer, Curtis
shall ensure, to the maximum extent Consumer Protection Act (the ‘‘Dodd- Rich, Small Business Administration,
possible and consistent with applicable Frank Act’’), 12 U.S.C. 5452(c)(3), a 409 3rd Street SW., 5th Floor,
law, the fair inclusion of minorities and Contractor’s failure to demonstrate to Washington, DC 20416; and SBA Desk
women in its workforce. the OMWI Director that it has made Officer, Office of Information and
The Contractor shall insert the good faith efforts to include minorities Regulatory Affairs, Office of
substance of this contract standard in and women in its workforce (and as Management and Budget, New
each subcontract for services awarded applicable, failure to demonstrate that Executive Office Building, Washington,
for performance of this contract with a its subcontractor(s) has made such good DC 20503.
dollar value of $100,000 or more. faith efforts) may result in termination FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Within ten (10) business days of a of the contract for default after the
written request from the Director of the Curtis Rich, Agency Clearance Officer,
contractor is provided written notice (202) 205–7030 curtis.rich@sba.gov
Commission’s Office of Minority and and an opportunity to cure the failure in
Women Inclusion (OMWI Director) or Copies: A copy of the Form OMB 83–
accordance with the procedures set
designee, or such longer time as the 1, supporting statement, and other
forth in FAR 49.402–3(d), other
OMWI Director or designee determines, documents submitted to OMB for
contractual remedies, referral to the
and without any additional review may be obtained from the
Office of Federal Contract Compliance
consideration, action or authorization Agency Clearance Officer.
Programs (OFCCP), or other appropriate
required from the OMWI Director, the action. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Contractor shall provide documentation, National Women’s Business Council
Compliance with this standard does
satisfactory to the OMWI Director, of the will examine women’s participation in
not necessarily satisfy the requirements
actions it has undertaken (and as business incubation and acceleration
of EO 11246, as amended, nor does it
applicable, the actions each covered programs to understand the
preclude OFCCP compliance
subcontractor under the contract has characteristics of incubators and
evaluations and/or enforcement actions
undertaken) to demonstrate its good acceleration that affect the business
undertaken pursuant to that Executive
faith efforts to comply with the outcomes of women business owners.
Order, or demonstrate compliance with
aforementioned provisions. NWBC will also gain insight into factors
other FAR clauses that may be included
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

For purposes of this contract, ‘‘good that affect women’s participation in
in this contract.
faith efforts’’ shall include actions by these programs. Respondents will be
the Contractor (and as applicable, For purposes of this contract managers of incubators and accelerators,
actions by each covered subcontractor standard, the term ‘‘minority’’ shall women owners who graduated from the
under the Service Contract) to identify have the meaning set forth in section programs and a sample of women
and, if present, remove barriers to 342(g) of the Dodd-Frank Act. business owners from the general
minority and women employment or Dated: February 10, 2015. population.

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Document Created: 2015-12-18 13:18:04
Document Modified: 2015-12-18 13:18:04
Category		Regulatory Information
Collection		Federal Register
sudoc Class		AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106:
Publisher		Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
Section		Notices
Action		Notice of proposed contract standard; notice of proposed information collection; and request for public comment.
Dates		Comments should be received on or before: April 14, 2015.
Contact		Pamela A. Gibbs, Director, Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, or Audrey B. Little, Senior Counsel, Office of Minority and Women Inclusion at (202) 551-6046, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549.
FR Citation		80 FR 8119