The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has issued a class deviation ending the government project labor agreement (PLA) mandate for future VA projects. Previously, the Biden Administration issued an executive order and then a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that required all large-scale government construction projects to include a PLA. AGC of America, with outside counsel, created a legal blueprint that led to a dozen projects protesting the mandate. On January 19th, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision held that the mandate was unlawfully implemented. Under the new directive, any VA solicitations prescribing a PLA pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 22.505 will remove the PLA requirement by amendment, and VA contracting officers shall not include a PLA requirement pursuant to FAR 22.5 for future projects. The VA’s action follows the Department of Defense (DOD) and the General Service Administration (GSA) moves to pull PLA requirements.
VA’s clear and concisely written memo clearly articulates the rationale for the deviation, emphasizing the need to foster a more competitive procurement environment:
On January 19, 2025, the Court of Federal Claims (the Court) issued an opinion and order in MVL USA, Inc., et al. v. The United States. In the decision, the “Court grants consolidated plaintiffs’ Motions for Judgment on the Administrative Record and denies the government’s Cross-Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record.” The Court found that the agencies’ 2024 implementation of E.O. 14063, specifically, “the functionality of the mandate as applied to the individual contracts in this case stifles competition and violates the statutory directive that agencies must promote “full and open competition” in federal procurements unless a statutory justification is properly invoked.” No injunction relief was included in the order.”
By eliminating the mandatory PLA requirement, the VA aims to reduce barriers in its contracting process, potentially leading to more efficient project delivery and greater contractor participation. For additional questions or comments, contact Brian Perlberg, Senior Counsel, at brian.perlberg@agc.org or Leah Pilconis, General Counsel, at leah.pilconis@agc.org