The Office of Management and Budget has issued a memorandum providing agencies guidance on reporting on the use of project labor agreements, or PLAs, in federal construction projects and reporting on exceptions to PLA requirements.
OMB said Monday the guidance document was issued in accordance with a February 2022 executive order, which requires the use of PLAs in federal construction projects worth over $35 million as part of efforts to alleviate coordination challenges and minimize disruptions on large projects.
Under the guidance, agencies should carry out and document inclusive market research for all large construction projects and require PLAs unless an exception applies.
Agencies should also ensure that any exception is approved by the senior procurement executive and report PLA exceptions and activities with supporting explanations of exceptions to OMB.
An agency may determine whether a PLA is required at the contract level or on an order-by-order basis for indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts.
“If the IDIQ contract is intended to support one large-scale construction project, the agency must require a PLA for the entire contract (i.e., all orders of any size), unless an exception applies,” the OMB guidance reads.
