The Defense Department, GSA, and NASA followed that up with their own proposed rule in May 2012, which would apply government wide. It became a final rule Dec. 21, 2012 instructing contracting officers to modify contracts to include the new requirement starting Jan. 18, 2013.

Specifically, they are expected to work with their existing service contractors and “bilaterally modify their contracts, to the extent feasible,” to include the new standard. They may also require contractors to inform the existing predecessor contractor’s workforce of their right of first refusal for jobs, and provide the list of service employees no less than 30 days before contract ends.

It applies specifically to service contracts, as defined by the 1965 McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act. That includes, among many other things, janitorial services.

The rule has earned mixed reviews from the contractor community, many of which voiced objection to any regulation that dictates how they should manage their workforce. Conversely, the rule could also spur a surge in protests and lawsuits from employees who feel companies are not properly complying with the rule.