DOL Announces New Pilot Program for Discretionary Suspensions and Debarments of Government Contractors

The Department of Labor has created a one-year pilot program intended to ensure accountability by expediting the process for discretionary suspensions (for up to 12 months) and debarments (for up to 3 years) of government contractors found to have engaged in inappropriate or illegal conduct.

The goal of the program is to reduce the processing time on suspensions and disbarments from months to days by increasing efficiency and sharing of information regarding indictments and convictions. The DOL’s Office of Inspector General will include additional information in its referrals to the Office of the Assistance Secretary for Administration and Management to speed up the decision-making process. This program will be in effect from April 2019 to April 2020.