U.S. Department of Transportation Notice to Contractors Regarding Nationwide Injunction on Enforcement of EO 14042

This Special Notice is issued to inform all existing and future U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) contractors regarding the status of DOT’s implementation efforts required by Executive Order (EO) No. 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors ((86 FR 50985) in light of recent Federal court preliminary injunctions on enforcement of the EO. This notice applies to all DOT contracts excluding those issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). For existing DOT contracts or contract-like instruments (hereinafter “contracts”) that contain the clause required by DOT Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Class Deviation 2022-01, which implement requirements of Executive Order 14042: The Government will take no action to enforce the clause implementing requirements of Executive Order 14042, absent further written notice from the agency, where the place of performance identified in the contract is in a U.S. state or outlying area subject to a court order prohibiting the application of requirements pursuant to the Executive Order (hereinafter, “Excluded State or Outlying Area”). In all other circumstances, the Government will enforce the clause, except for contractor employees who perform substantial work on or in connection with a covered contract in an Excluded State or Outlying Area, or in a covered contractor workplace located in an Excluded State or Outlying Area. A current list of such Excluded States and Outlying Areas is maintained at https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/contractors/. NOTE: The court orders only apply to the application of requirements pursuant to Executive Order 14042. There is no change to the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force’s guidance for COVID-19 workplace safety protocols for Federal agencies. Federal agency workplace safety protocols for Federal buildings and Federally controlled facilities still apply in all locations. Contractor employees working onsite in those facilities must still follow those Federal agency workplace safety protocols. As a result, DOT contractors that have employees that are required to report on-site to a DOT worksite, location or facility must still comply with DOT Acquisition Directive (DAD) 2021-02, COVID-19 Entry Procedures for On-Site Contractors Reporting to DOT Facilities (and associated Frequently Asked Questions), available on DOT’s public-facing website, here: https://www.transportation.gov/assistant-secretary-administration/procurement/senior-procurement-executive.