whatbindsCheck your order

Clauses · FAR · Small business, labor and socioeconomic

FAR 52.222-90 Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors

Does the regulation require it to flow down?

Yes

Paragraph (c): 'The Contractor must include the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (c), in subcontracts at any tier, including those for commercial products and commercial services, for which the place of delivery or performance is in the United States.' The FAR Council applicability section states the same in terms: 'The clause flows down to subcontracts at any tier, including those for commercial products and commercial services, for which the place of delivery or performance is in the United States'

Form
substance, including paragraph (c) itself — self-perpetuating
Reaches
all tiers ('subcontracts at any tier'), limited to US place of delivery or performance

Checked against acquisition.gov on 2026-08-05 · edition APR 2026 (DEVIATION APR 2026) — FAR Council model deviation text issued by memorandum of 2026-04-17; NOT in the codified FAR · base v0.9.3 Read the text ↗

What it makes you produce

3 items for your checklist, slowest first.

  1. Something you write

    Days to weeks, and nobody outside your company has to agree to it.

    • Written notice that the validity of the clause has been put in issue

      Owed when a lower-tier supplier sues you and the suit puts the clause's validity at issue

      FAR 52.222-90(b)

  2. Something you fill in and send back2

    Hours, once you know which one is missing.

    • The information and reports the buyer asks for to establish compliance, including access to books, records and accounts

      Owed when the contracting officer requires them

      FAR 52.222-90(b)(2)
    • A report of a lower-tier supplier's conduct that may breach the clause, and the remedial action you are directed to take

      Owed when the conduct is known to you or reasonably knowable

      FAR 52.222-90(b)

When it is used

Class deviation, not codified FAR. The FAR Council memorandum of 2026-04-17 implements E.O. 14398, Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors, dated 2026-03-26 (91 FR 16147, 2026-03-31). Model deviation text creates subpart 22.22 and prescribes the clause at 22.2203: insert in solicitations and contracts, INCLUDING those for commercial products and commercial services, for which the place of delivery or performance is in the United States. The applicability section adds the dollar line: new solicitations and resulting contracts valued OVER the micro-purchase threshold ($15k), with the clause in use from 2026-04-24, and existing contracts over the micro-purchase threshold to be bilaterally modified by 2026-07-24 (discretionary for contracts expiring on or before 2026-12-31). Agencies had until 2026-04-27 to update their RFO class deviations for parts 9, 12, 22 and 52.

Read closely

Paragraph (b) carries an agreement, not a certification, and the difference is the whole shape of the clause. Compliance is stated to be material to the Government's payment decisions for the purposes of 31 U.S.C. 3729(b)(4), and paragraph (c) carries the substance, including itself, into subcontracts at any tier including commercial ones, where the place of delivery or performance is in the United States. The clause exists under the FAR Council memorandum of 2026-04-17 implementing Executive Order 14398, not in the codified FAR; the second and third of these cite paragraph (b) alone because the numbering of its subparagraphs was not read. The collection duties at (b)(2), (b)(4) and (b)(5) await clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act, and existing records can still be demanded in an individual investigation, including by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Department of Justice.

The 7 templates that name it, with the line
166Northrop Grumman CTM-P-ST-001 — U.S. Government Firm Fixed Price Order (Not for Commercial Products and Services)Northrop Grummanline 228469Northrop Grumman CTM-P-ST-002 — U.S. Government FFP or T&M Order for Commercial Products and ServicesNorthrop Grummanline 2358166Northrop Grumman CTM-P-ST-003 — U.S. Government T&M Order (Not for Commercial Products and Services)Northrop Grummanline 2226168Northrop Grumman CTM-P-ST-004 — U.S. Government Cost Reimbursement Order (Not for Commercial Products and Services)Northrop Grummanline 2324255GD Mission Systems SCM-TMP-005 — General Provisions, Firm Fixed Price PO under U.S. Government Contract (Non-Commercial)General Dynamicsline 1040243GD Mission Systems SCM-TMP-048 — T&M Purchase Orders for Non-Commercial Items in Support of a U.S. Government ContractGeneral Dynamicsline 1961122GD Mission Systems SCM-TMP-095 — FFP Purchase Orders for Commercial/COTS Products or Services in Support of a U.S. Government ContractGeneral Dynamicsline 1013

Source: acquisition.gov, FAR Council memorandum 'Agency Implementation of Executive Order 14398, Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors' dated 2026-04-17 with attached model deviation text for FAR 9.406-2, 9.407-2, 12.205, subpart 22.22, 52.222-90 and 52.244-6, and the acquisition.gov posting 'FAR Overhaul Updates for Parts 9, 12, 22 and 52 — Implementation of E.O. 14398' (verified 2026-08-05); commercial lists checked against FAR 52.244-6(c)(1) (Oct 2025) and FAR 52.212-5(e)(1) (Mar 2026)

This is research, not legal advice. It states what the regulation says about this clause and cites the paragraph behind it. It does not rule on your order, and it does not rule on whether a prime's markings are correct.