NIH Implementation of Trafficking in Persons Award Term

Notice Number: NOT-OD-08-055

Key Dates
Release Date:  March 7, 2008

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov/)

In November 2007, the Office of Management and Budget issued Interim Final Guidance in the Federal Register (Volume 72, No. 218, 11/13/2008) on Trafficking in Persons:  Grants and Cooperative Agreements.  This award term implements Section 106 (g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (22 USC 7104); and is now located at 2 CFR Part 175.   Although a Final Notice is still expected to be issued in the future, the Department of Health and Human Services has instructed DHHS agencies to implement this new award term based on the Interim Final Guidance.

Effectively immediately with this Guide Notice, NIH hereby implements this term into all Notice of Awards issued on/after the date of this announcement by incorporating it on the Award Conditions and Information website found at:  http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/awardconditions.htm.   This website is already provided as a reference in all Notice of Awards, Section III.

Full text of the award term is provided below.   Grantees are reminded that this award term must be incorporated into all consortium agreements when applicable.

Trafficking in persons.

a. Provisions applicable to a recipient that is a private entity.

1. You as the recipient, your employees, subrecipients under this award, and subrecipients’ employees may not—

i. Engage in severe forms of trafficking in persons during the period of time that the award is in effect;
ii. Procure a commercial sex act during the period of time that the award is in effect; or
iii. Use forced labor in the performance of the award or subawards under the award.

2. We as the Federal awarding agency may unilaterally terminate this award, without penalty, if you or a subrecipient that is a private entity —

i. Is determined to have violated a prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award term; or
ii. Has an employee who is determined by the agency official authorized to terminate the award to have violated a prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award term through conduct that is either—

A. Associated with performance under this award; or
B. Imputed to you or the subrecipient using the standards and due process for imputing the conduct of an individual to an organization that are provided in 2 CFR part 180, ‘‘OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement),’’ as implemented by our agency at 2 CFR part 376.

b. Provision applicable to a recipient otherthan a private entity.

We as the Federal awarding agency may unilaterally terminate this award, without penalty, if a subrecipient that is a private entity—

1. Is determined to have violated an applicable prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award term; or
2. Has an employee who is determined by the agency official authorized to terminate the award to have violated an applicable prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award term through conduct that is either—

i. Associated with performance under this award; or
ii. Imputed to the subrecipient using the standards and due process for imputing the conduct of an individual to an organization that are provided in 2 CFR part 180, ‘‘OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement),’’ as implemented by our agency at 2CFR part 376.

c. Provisions applicable to any recipient.

1. You must inform us immediately of any information you receive from any source alleging a violation of a prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award term.

2. Our right to terminate unilaterally that is described in paragraph a.2 or b of this section:

i. Implements section 106(g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), as amended (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)), and
ii. Is in addition to all other remedies for noncompliance that are available to us under this award.

3. You must include the requirements of paragraph a.1 of this award term in any subaward you make to a private entity.

d. Definitions. For purposes of this award term:

1. ‘‘Employee’’ means either:

i. An individual employed by you or a subrecipient who is engaged in the performance of the project or program under this award; or
ii. Another person engaged in the performance of the project or program under this award and not compensated by you including, but not limited to, a volunteer or individual whose services are contributed by a third party as an in-kind contribution toward cost sharing or matching requirements.

2. ‘‘Forced labor’’ means labor obtained by any of the following methods: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

3. ‘‘Private entity’’:

i. Means any entity other than a State, local government, Indian tribe, or foreign public entity, as those terms are defined in 2 CFR 175.25.
ii. Includes:

A. A nonprofit organization, including any nonprofit institution of higher education, hospital, or tribal organization other than one included in the definition of Indian tribe at 2 CFR 175.25(b).
B. A for-profit organization.

4. ‘‘Severe forms of trafficking in persons,’’ ‘‘commercial sex act,’’ and ‘‘coercion’’ have the meanings given at section 103 of the TVPA, as amended (22 U.S.C. 7102).

Inquiries

Inquiries should be directed to:

Division of Grants Policy
Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration
National Institutes of Health
6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 350
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 435-0938
FAX: (301) 435-3059
Email: [email protected]