Upon receipt of any of the types of securities listed in FAR 28.203-1 (except bonds or notes received in the District of Columbia) or FAR 28.203-2, the contracting officer shall turn the securities over to the finance office.

Contract tax problems or questions shall be referred by the contracting officer to the Office of the Solicitor for resolution.

(a) Contractors to be treated as agents of the Government for the purposes set forth in FAR 29.303(a) shall require the written review and approval of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management.

(b) Requests for approval under paragraph (a) of this section shall be submitted by the Head of the Contracting Activity, through the Office of the Solicitor, to the Director, Directorate of Procurement and Grant Management, for further action.

(a) The Director, Directorate of Procurement and Grant Management, is authorized to waive CASB requirements as provided in FAR 30.304(c).

(b) Requests for waivers under paragraph (a) of this section shall be prepared by the contracting officer as prescribed in FAR 30.304(a) and submitted by the Head of the Contracting Activity.

Individual and class deviations concerning cost principles in FAR part 31 shall be processed as prescribed in subpart 2901.4.

(a) Progress payments based on a percentage or stage of completion accomplished are authorized for use in contracts for construction, alteration, or repair.

(b) The Head of the Contracting Activity, or designee, is authorized to approve the use of progress payments based on percentage or stage of completion accomplished for contracts other than those listed in paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) Requests for approval under paragraph (b) of this section, shall be in the form of a written determination by the contracting officer that:

(1) Use of progress payments based on costs (see FAR subpart 32.5) is impracticable; and

(2) Adequate measures exist for determining percentage or stage of completion as a basis for determining payment.

(a) The Director, Directorate of Procurement and Grant Management, is authorized to approve findings and determinations and contract terms for advance payments as prescribed in FAR subpart 32.4.

(b) The contracting officer shall review and analyze the contractor's application for advance payments to determine if it meets the information requirements of FAR 32.408. Applications which do not contain the required information shall not be processed until such information is obtained from the contractor.

(c) The contracting officer shall submit a recommendation for approval or disapproval of the contractor's request through the Head of the Servicing Finance Office (see FAR 32.402(e)(2)) to the Head of the Contracting Activity for transmittal to the Director, Directorate of Procurement and Grant Management, under paragraph (a) of this section. Recommendations which do not contain the information required by FAR 32.409-1 or FAR 32.409-2 will not be processed by the Directorate of Procurement and Grant Management.

(a) The contracting officer shall obtain the approval of the Head of the Contracting Activity before providing a progress payment rate higher than the customary rates prescribed in FAR 32.501-1.

(b) For deviations to progress payment terms prescribed under FAR part 32, the contracting officer shall obtain approval as prescribed in 2901.403.

(c) The contracting officer shall obtain the approval of the servicing finance office for the contract before taking the action in FAR 32.502-2.

(a) The DOL contracting officer has primary responsibility for determining the amount of contract debt and notifying the cognizant finance office of such debt due the Government. The servicing DOL finance office making payments under the contract has primary responsibility for debt collection.

(b) Each DOL Agency/Office is responsible for developing an internal debt collection system and prescribing internal procedures for collection of debts, including contract debts covered under FAR subpart 32.6. Agency/Office procedures should be in conformance with policies and procedures issued by DOL.

The Director, Office of Procurement and Grant Policy, Directorate of Procurement and Grant Management, shall be responsible for coordinating bid protests filed with the General Accounting Office (GAO). All communications relative to protests filed with GAO or GSBCA shall be coordinated with the Director, Office of Procurement and Grant Policy. Bid protests concerning automatic data processing (ADP) acquisitions filed with the General Services Administration Board of Contract Appeals (GSBCA) shall be coordinated by the contracting officer.

When protests are filed with a DOL Agency and received before award, the contracting office shall obtain the advice of the Director, Office of Procurement and Grant Policy, before making the determination under FAR 33.103(a).

(a) Notice of protest. Upon being advised telephonically by GAO or the receipt of a protest before or after award, the Office of Procurement and Grant Policy shall inform the appropriate contracting officer and request preparation of the protest report required by FAR 33.104(a)(2). For GAO protests concerning ADP acquisitions, the Office of Procurement and Grant Policy shall also inform the Director, Directorate of Information Resources Management, who, in turn, shall notify the appropriate DOL Agency Information Resources Management (IRM) contact. As required by FAR 33.104(a)(3) and 4 CFR 21.3, the contracting officer shall promptly notify all interested parties, including offerors (or the contractor, if the protest is after award) involved in or affected by the protest, that a protest has been filed with GAO and the basis for the protest. A written record of such notification shall be placed in the contract file. After receiving a copy of the protest from GAO and its request for an administrative report, the Office of Procurement and Grant Policy will promptly furnish the same to the contracting officer. The contracting officer shall promptly transmit by letter a copy of the protest to all interested parties previously notified and include a statement requiring furnishing of views and information directly to GAO. Copies of cover letters shall be sent to the Director, Office of Procurement and Grant Policy. Cover letters shall set forth a specified period of time for submission of comments (see FAR 33.104(a)(3)) and include instructions that any comments submitted to GAO should also be submitted simulaneously to the contracting officer and the Director, Office of Procurement and Grant Policy. Materials submitted by the protester may be withheld from interested parties in accordance with 4 CFR 21.3(b).

(b) Submission of report. (1) All personnel shall handle protests on a priority basis. Within 25 work days after receipt by the Office of Procurement and Grant Policy of GAO's telephonic notice of the protest, or within 10 work days after receipt from GAO of a determination to use the express option, a complete report shall be submitted to GAO (see FAR 33.104(a)(2)). If the specific circumstances of the protest require a longer period, the head of the contracting activity shall immediately notify the Office of Procurement and Grant policy which shall request, in writing, an extension of the time period in accordance with 4 CFR 21.3(d).

(2) In addition to the requirements of FAR 33.104(a)(2), the report responsive to the protest shall be appropriately titled and dated; shall cite the GAO file number; and shall be signed by the contracting officer or the contracting officer's representative. Reports shall be prepared with the assistance of the Office of the Solicitor of Labor. If appropriate, the report shall contain a statement regarding any urgency for the acquisition and the extent to which a delay in award may result in significant performance difficulties or additional expense to the Government. If award is not urgent, a statement shall be included giving an estimate of the length of time an award may be delayed without significant expense or difficulty in performance. The head of the contracting activity shall submit an original and one copy of the contracting officer's report to the Director, Office of Procurement and Grant Policy, with a forwarding letter to GAO signed by the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management. When the letter and report are dated and transmitted to GAO, the Director, Office of Procurement and Grant Policy, will inform the contracting officer. The contracting officer will then distribute copies of the report to all interested parties.

(c) Notice to GAO. The Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management shall submit the report required by FAR 33.104(f). The report shall be submitted to the Comptroller General through the Director, Office of Procurement and Grant Policy, and the Director, Directorate of Procurement and Grant Management. For decisions concerning ADP acquisitions, the report shall also be submitted through the Director, Directorate of Information Resources Management.

(a) Notice of protest. Immediately upon receipt of a copy of a protest to the General Services Administration Board of Contract Appeals (GSBCA), the contracting officer shall inform the Office of Procurement and Grant Policy, the Directorate of Information Resources Management, and the Office of the Solicitor of Labor. The contracting officer shall, within 1 work day after receipt of a copy of the protest, provide oral or written notice to all parties required to be notified by FAR 33.105(a)(2) and shall provide the GSBCA with a written list of all such parties to whom notice was provided within 5 work days after receipt of a copy of the protest. A copy of all notifications to interested parties and related correspondence with GSBCA shall be maintained in the contract file and a copy of the list of interested parties notified shall be provided to the Office of Procurement and Grant Policy simultaneously with submission to the GSBCA.

(b) Submission of protest file. An original and one copy of a protest file (see FAR 33.105(b)) plus one copy for each interested party which has a notice of intervention or a motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of Rule 5(a)(3) of GSBCA Rules of Procedure (48 CFR 6101.5(a)(3)) shall be prepared by the contracting officer. The protest file shall be organized to comply with the requirements of Rule 4(b) of the GSBCA Rules of Procedure (48 CFR 6101.4(b)). The contracting officer shall submit the file to the GSBCA within 10 work days after filing of the protest and shall also send copies to the Director, Office of Procurement and Grant Policy, and to each interested party.

(c) Hearings. The Solicitor of Labor, or the Solicitor's representative, is responsible for representing the contracting officer at all stages of proceedings on suspension of the agency's delegation of procurement authority (see FAR 33.105(d)), at all stages of proceedings on the merits of the protest (see FAR 33.105(e)), and with respect to any other proceedings which may be heard by the GSBCA. The head of the contracting activity shall be responsible for executing the determination required by FAR 33.105(d)(1). The Office of the Solicitor shall notify the contracting officer and the Directorate of Information Resources Management of the results of such proceedings, including any hearing.

(a) The Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management shall make the determination prescribed under FAR 33.203(b).

(b) Determinations under paragraph (a) of this section shall be submitted by the Head of the Contracting Activity to the Director, Directorate of Procurement and Grant Management, for further action.

(a) The Department of Labor Board of Contract Appeals (LBCA) is authorized by the Secretary to consider and determine appeals from decisions of contracting officers arising under a contract or relating to a contract made by the Department or any other executive agency when such agency or the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy has designated the LBCA to decide the appeal.

(b) The address of the LBCA is 1111 20th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20036.

(c) The LBCA rules of procedure are contained in 41 CFR part 29-60.

The contracting officer shall refer all matters relating to suspected fraudulent claims by a contractor under the conditions in FAR 33.009 to the Office of the Inspector General for further action or investigation.

The written decision required by FAR 33.211(a)(4) shall include, in the paragraph listed under FAR 33.211(a)(4)(v), specific reference to the Department of Labor Board of Contract Appeals (LBCA), 1111 20th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20036, and its procedures under 41 CFR part 29-60. The LBCA optional small claims (expedited) procedures and accelerated procedures under 41 CFR 29-60.211 shall also be referenced as required by FAR.

(a) When a notice of appeal has been received, the contracting officer shall endorse on the appeal the date of mailing (or the date of receipt if the notice was not mailed) and forward it to the LBCA by certified mail within five (5) days of receipt. The Solicitor of Labor shall also be notified of the appeal by the contracting officer. See 41 CFR 29-60.203.

(b) The contracting officer shall prepare and transmit the data, documentation, and information required by 41 CFR 29-60.205 in the form of an appeal file and appellant or appellants counsel within 30 days after receipt of a notice of appeal or advice that an appeal has been docketed by the LBCA.