The Department of Defense has issued a class deviation directing contracting officers to dissolve and replace Federal Acquisition Regulation, or FAR, solicitation provisions and contract clauses associated with the Equal Employment Opportunity executive order.
DOD said Wednesday John Tenaglia, principal director of defense pricing, contracting, and acquisition policy, signed the class deviation titled Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity in Federal Contracts on Tuesday.
According to the document, contracting officers are not required to amend contract actions nearing the end of the performance period, including those with less than six months remaining, and those without options to extend.
Removing the Term ‘Gender’
The class deviation also directs the removal of the term “gender” in the FAR to comply with the Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government EO signed by President Trump in January.
GSA-Issued Class Deviations to FAR
In February, the General Services Administration released two deviations to FAR and procurement practices to implement three recent executive orders, including the Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity EO.
GSA noted that the FAR deviations will allow federal contracting officers to modify existing contracts and solicitations without imposing penalties on the contract holder or the government.
