(a) Upon the recommendation of the USAID Administrator, the Secretary of Labor may waive the applicability of the Defense Base Act (DBA) with respect to any contract, subcontract, or subordinate contract, work location, or classification of employees. Either the contractor or USAID can request a waiver from coverage. Such a waiver can apply to any employees who are not U.S. citizens, not residents of, or not hired in the United States. Waivers requested by the contractor are submitted to the contracting officer for approval and further submission to the Department of Labor, which grants the waiver. Application for a waiver is submitted on Labor Department Form BEC 565. USAID has a number of blanket waivers already in effect for certain countries that are applicable to its direct contracts with contractors performing in such countries. Where such waivers are granted from coverage under the DBA, the waiver is conditioned on providing other workmen’s compensation coverage to employees to which the waiver applies. Usually this takes the form of securing workmen’s compensation coverage of the country where work will be performed or of the country of the employee’s nationality, whichever offers greater benefits. The Department of Labor has granted partial blanket waivers of DBA coverage applicable to USAID-financed contracts performed in certain countries, subject to two conditions:
(1) Employees hired in the United States by the contractor, and citizens or residents of the United States are to be provided DBA insurance coverage:
(2) Waived employees (i.e., employees who are neither U.S. citizens nor U.S. resident aliens, and who were hired outside the United States) will be provided worker’s compensation benefits as required by the laws of the country in which they are working or the laws of their native country, whichever offers greater benefits. Information as to whether a DBA Waiver has been obtained by USAID for a particular country may be obtained from the cognizant USAID contracting officer.
(b) To assist contractors in securing insurance at minimal rates for the workmen’s compensation insurance required under the DBA, and to facilitate meeting insurance requirements for such coverage, USAID, after open and competitive negotiation, has entered into a contract with an insurance carrier to provide such coverage at a specified rate. The terms of this contract require the insurance carrier to provide coverage, and the contractor to make payments to and handle its claims with that insurance carrier. Contracting officers are responsible for explaining and advising contractors of the details of securing such insurance.
