Current through October 31, 2024
Section 175.105 - Statutory requirement(a) Federal agencies are required to include in each Federal grant or cooperative agreement a condition that authorizes the Federal agency to terminate the award or take any remedial actions authorized by 22 U.S.C. 7104b(c) , without penalty, if a private entity receiving funds under the award as a recipient or subrecipient engages in:(1) Severe forms of trafficking in persons;(2) The procurement of a commercial sex act during the period of time that the grant or cooperative agreement is in effect;(3) The use of forced labor in the performance of the grant or cooperative agreement; or(4) Acts that directly support or advance trafficking in persons, including the following acts: (i) Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or otherwise denying an employee access to that employee's identity or immigration documents;(ii) Failing to provide return transportation or pay for return transportation costs to an employee from a country outside the United States to the country from which the employee was recruited upon the end of employment if requested by the employee, unless: (A) exempted from the requirement to provide or pay for such return transportation by the Federal department or agency providing or entering into the grant or cooperative agreement; or(B) the employee is a victim of human trafficking seeking victim services or legal redress in the country of employment or a witness in a human trafficking enforcement action;(iii) Soliciting a person for the purpose of employment, or offering employment, by means of materially false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises regarding that employment;(iv) Charging recruited employees a placement or recruitment fee; or(v) Providing or arranging housing that fails to meet the host country's housing and safety standards.(b) Compliance plan and certification requirement:(1)Certification. Prior to receiving a grant or cooperative agreement, if the estimated value of services required to be performed under the grant or cooperative agreement outside the United States exceeds $500,000, a recipient must certify that:(i) The recipient has implemented a plan to prevent the activities described in paragraph (a) of this section, and is in compliance with this plan;(ii) The recipient has implemented procedures to prevent any activities described in paragraph (a) of this section and to monitor, detect, and terminate any subrecipient, contractor, subcontractor, or employee of the recipient engaging in any activities described in paragraph (a) of this section; and(iii) To the best of the recipient's knowledge, neither the recipient, nor any subrecipient, contractor, or subcontractor of the recipient or any agent of the recipient or of such a subrecipient, contractor, or subcontractor, is engaged in any of the activities described in paragraph (a) of this section.(2)Annual certification. The recipient must submit an annual certification consistent with paragraph (b)(1) of this section for each year the award is in effect.(3)Compliance plan. Any plan or procedures implemented pursuant to paragraph (b) must be appropriate to the size and complexity of the grant or cooperative agreement and to the nature and scope of its activities, including the number of non-United States citizens expected to be employed.(4)Copies of the compliance plan. The recipient must provide a copy of the plan to the grant officer upon request, and as appropriate, must post the useful and relevant contents of the plan or related materials on its website and at the workplace.(5)Minimum requirements of the compliance plan. The compliance plan must include, at a minimum, the following: (i) An awareness program to inform recipient employees about the Government's policy prohibiting trafficking-related activities described in paragraph (a) of this section, the activities prohibited, and the actions that will be taken against the employee for violations. Additional information about Trafficking in Persons and examples of awareness programs can be found at the website for the Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at http://www.state.gov/j/tip/.(ii) A process for employees to report, without fear of retaliation, activity inconsistent with the policy prohibiting trafficking in persons.(iii) A recruitment and wage plan that only permits the use of recruitment companies with trained employees, prohibits charging recruitment fees to the employees or potential employees and ensures that wages meet applicable host-country legal requirements or explains any variance.(iv) A housing plan, if the recipient, subrecipient, contractor, or subcontractor intends to provide or arrange housing, that ensures that the housing meets host-country housing and safety standards.(v) Procedures to prevent agents, subrecipients, contractors, or subcontractors at any tier and at any dollar value from engaging in trafficking in persons, including activities in paragraph (a) of this section, and to monitor, detect, and terminate any agents, subgrants, or subrecipient, contractor, or subcontractor employees that have engaged in such activities.(c) Notification to Inspectors General and cooperation with government. The head of a Federal agency making or awarding a grant or cooperative agreement must require that the recipient of the grant or cooperative agreement:(1) Immediately inform the Federal agency and Inspector General of the Federal agency of any information it receives from any source that alleges credible information that the recipient, any subrecipient, contractor, or subcontractor of the recipient, or any agent of the recipient or of such a subrecipient, contractor, or subcontractor, has engaged in conduct described in paragraph (a) of this section; and(2) Fully cooperate with any Federal agencies responsible for audits, investigations, or corrective actions relating to trafficking in persons.