The Suspension and Debarment (S&D) Office at DOL protects the Department from fraud, waste, and abuse by ensuring that the Government only conducts business with presently responsible individuals and entities. The S&D process allows agencies to exclude individuals and entities from receiving contracts where the government believes the entity is not responsible and presents a threat to the Government’s interests. S&D actions are taken only where it’s in the best interest of the Government. These remedies cannot be used as punishment.

There are essentially two types of S&Ds: statutory and discretionary (sometimes called administrative). Discretionary S&Ds are further divided into two subcategories: procurement and nonprocurement.

  • Statutory S&D provisions refer to congressional enactments that provide bases for suspending or debarring individuals or entities; generally, such provisions are created by Congress to further statutory compliance or enforcement schemes. Statutory S&D actions are limited to the program/statute/Act that authorized them. This means that an individual/entity suspended or debarred under a statutory authority is only restricted from participating in government activities related to that authority.
  • Discretionary S&D derived from the inherent authority of the Government acting in its capacity as a purchaser and consumer of goods and services. Discretionary S&D actions are governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at 48 CFR Part 9.4, which covers procurement, and by the Nonprocurement Common Rule (NCR) at 2 CFR Part 180, which covers nonprocurement transactions, such as grants, cooperative agreements, leases, concessions, loans, or benefits. Discretionary S&D actions have Government-wide reciprocal effect, meaning that if an individual/entity is suspended or debarred from doing business with one Federal Agency, then that individual/entity is also suspended or debarred from doing business with other Federal Agencies. The ineligibility applies only to new awards. Agencies may decide to continue or terminate performance on any existing awards.