Administrative and National Policy Requirements

1. Investment and Research Security

Awards made under this BAA are subject to multiple statutes and directives requiring protection of Federally-funded intellectual property, including —

• 15 U.S.C. § 4656(g) requires the protection of Federally-funded intellectual property from foreign adversaries
• 15 U.S.C. § 4657 prohibits providing any Federal funds awarded under this BAA to any foreign entity of concern (FEOC)
• National Security Presidential Memorandum-33 (NSPM-33) and 42 U.S.C. § 6605 requires participants in the Federal R&D enterprise to periodically disclose information related to potential conflicts of interest and commitment, including monetary and non-monetary research support
• 42 U.S.C. §§ 19231 – 19237 prohibits certain research participants from participating in malign foreign talent recruitment programs

To ensure compliance with these requirements, NIST reserves the right to request additional information to assess any identified risks to the protection of Federally-funded intellectual property or to develop and require risk mitigation strategies.

Applicants will be required to, where applicable to the proposed project, name “Identified Key Actors” such as —

1. Covered individuals¹, as well as primary officers, senior technical personnel, board members, or board observers, from the Applicant and any partner organization; and
2. Investors and major partners (including funded participants and unfunded collaborators) that have, or could have in the future (including through debt conversion), access to the applicant's and/or organization's proprietary or otherwise commercially or technically sensitive information.

Depending on the nature of a specific project, the applicant may also be required to —

1. Submit a written research security plan describing internal processes to address foreign talent recruitment programs, conflicts of commitment, conflicts of interest, research security training, research integrity, and cybersecurity;
2. Establish and operate a research security program, consistent with the research security plan;
3. Submit a technology control plan, governing protection against unauthorized transfer of intellectual property;
4. Conduct an annual information technology assessment;
5. Regularly update NIST on changes to the list of covered individuals, to foreign affiliations and financial and in-kind support of such individuals or the applicant and its subrecipients, or of any adverse incidents, including cyber-incidents, that could compromise Federally-funded intellectual property.

For additional information and resources, applicants can refer to the —

1. Safeguarding International Science: Research Security Framework (NIST IR 8484)
2. CHIPS R&D Research Security and Technology Protection web page
3. CHIPS Technology Protection Guidebook 

By submitting application materials under this BAA, an applicant acknowledges that it has the capacity to demonstrate, prior to receipt of the award, that NIST-funded research and associated data products will be protected, compliant with the requirements of NIST IR 8484. The applicant further acknowledges that NIST/CHIPS may require implementation of certain elements of a research security plan as a condition of the award. 

1.1 Prohibition on Foreign Entities of Concern

Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 4657, none of the funds awarded under this BAA may be provided to a FEOC, as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 4651 and implemented by the final rule entitled Preventing the Improper Use of CHIPS Act Funding, 88 FR 65600 (Sept. 25, 2023), codified at 15 C.F.R. § 231.104. FEOCs are also ineligible to participate in this BAA as unfunded collaborators. 

1.2 Security Review and Risk Determination

Prior to making an award under this BAA, NIST will review all available information to assess whether the applicant, its investors or major partners, or any Identified Key Actors — including foreign nationals who are not lawful permanent residents or protected persons as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3) — are subject to any undue foreign influence or interference through conflicts of interest or conflicts of commitment. Undue foreign influence or interference may include, but is not limited to, associations or affiliations with foreign strategic competitors or governments of countries that have a history of intellectual property theft, research misconduct, or targeting U.S. technology for unauthorized transfer. Affiliations include any past or present organization (foreign and domestic) with whom the applicant has a formal relationship or obligation (e.g., universities, scholarships, professional societies, foreign talent recruitment programs). NIST will examine associations or affiliations during the ten-year period immediately preceding the application submission.

Specific items subject to review include, at a minimum —

• Ensuring that the applicant, subrecipients, unfunded collaborators, and Identified Key Actors, including covered individuals, are not FEOCs or foreign countries of concern (FCOCs);
• Checking for compliance with regulations relevant to U.S. export control, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC); and
• Verifying the adequacy of cybersecurity and physical security practices.

At the conclusion of the security review, NIST will issue a determination of low, medium, or high risk for the application based on the totality of available information, which may include but is not limited to —

• The ownership structure, subsidiaries, and obligations of the applicant, the project team (including subrecipients or unfunded collaborators), or of any other major partners or investors;
• Conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment of Identified Key Actors, including covered individuals;
• Participation of Identified Key Actors in a foreign talent recruitment program; and
• Any military-civil applications of the funded research, as applicable.

NIST may, at its sole discretion, provide the applicant an opportunity to mitigate any assessed risks prior to making a final funding determination. NIST/CRDO further reserves the right to require specific mitigation actions, including but not limited to requiring additional training for project participants or segmentation of certain tasks of the proposed work, and any follow-up information needed to assess risk or mitigation strategies. CRDO may determine not to make an award, despite any proposed mitigation terms in connection with an application.

1.3 Requirements for Recipients to Update Security-Related Information

Applicants and subrecipients are expected to reasonably exercise due diligence to ensure that Identified Key Actors are not subject to foreign interference or exploitation. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 6605(a)(1)(C), applicants are required to update, on an ongoing basis, the NIST Agreements Officer of any changes made to the list of Identified Key Actors or to their foreign affiliations as well as to the Written Summary of Certain Research Partnerships or Technology Transfer Commitments. Prior to NIST making an award under this BAA, applicants must update the NIST Agreements Officer of any such changes immediately. During the period of performance, award recipients must update the NIST Agreements Officer within five (5) business days of such changes being made or of becoming aware of such changes.

Certain events may also require an update to the security review and should also be reported to the NIST Agreements Officer, in alignment with the above timelines. These “triggering events” include —

• Changes in the board or executive management of the applicant;
• Completion of a new financing round for the applicant;
• An applicant, subrecipient, or Identified Key Actor becoming a FEOC;
• Any pending action against the applicant regarding actual or alleged non-compliance with any Sanctions, Export Control Laws, Anti-Money Laundering Laws, or Anti-Corruption Laws;
• Failure by the applicant to make a mandatory Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) filing;
• After the completion of any review or investigation under section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended by the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), the applicant has received written notice from CFIUS that there are unresolved national security concerns;
• The company has received outreach from CFIUS regarding a non-notified transaction; or
• The President shall have announced a decision to take action to suspend, prohibit or place any limitations on the transactions contemplated by the applicant.

Following a triggering event and updated security review, NIST may consider actions to limit any newly identified risks, including but not limited to making a determination not to issue an award.

2. Intellectual Property (IP) and Domestic Production

As set forth in 15 U.S.C. § 4656(g), the Department of Commerce must “develop policies to require domestic production, to the extent possible, for any intellectual property” resulting from R&D conducted using Federal funds awarded under this BAA. Further, 15 U.S.C. § 4656(g) requires CHIPS R&D to develop domestic control requirements to protect any such IP (which may include software) from foreign adversaries.

For the purposes of 15 U.S.C. § 4656(g) under this BAA, “intellectual property” means any invention that is or may be patentable under U.S. law; and “foreign adversaries” include any “foreign entity of concern” and “foreign country of concern,” as those terms are defined in 15 U.S.C. § 4651(7)-(8) and 15 C.F.R. §§ 231.102, 231.104, as well as any entity whose actions, policies, or personnel decisions are controlled by a “foreign entity of concern” or “foreign country of concern.”

2.1 Domestic Production

For the purposes of 15 U.S.C. § 4656(g) under this BAA, “production” includes the manufacture, integration, assembly, testing, and packaging of products, materials, or equipment developed or improved as a result of CHIPS funding. CRDO will require applicants to provide a Commercial Viability and Domestic Production Plan describing potential pathways and commitments to transition CHIPS-funded innovations to commercial viability and domestic production.  

2.2 Domestic Control

To meet the requirements of 15 U.S.C. § 4656(g), CRDO will include award terms and conditions related to domestic control of Federally-funded intellectual property. The relevant terms and conditions will include, at a minimum, the following —

1. At least one domestic entity must own or co-own any Federally-funded intellectual property resulting from work (e.g., CHIPS-funded applicant or subawardee activities) conducted under this BAA (“resulting intellectual property”) and must have full rights to enforce the applicable intellectual property rights, at least for a period of years to be determined prior to the final award.
2. At the conclusion of the period of years, ownership of the resulting intellectual property may generally be sold, transferred, or assigned to a foreign entity that is not a foreign adversary.
3. In the event a domestic entity sells, transfers, or assigns ownership of the resulting intellectual property, the entity must promptly disclose such transaction to NIST prior to such transaction.
4. Any owner or co-owner of the resulting intellectual property (including successors in interest) may not sell, transfer, or assign ownership of such intellectual property to a foreign adversary.
5. Any owner of the resulting intellectual property may not license such intellectual property to a foreign adversary, subject to limited specific exceptions determined by NIST.
   1. This restriction is not applicable to the following specific exceptions, provided that an owner or co-owner of any patent or patent application resulting from R&D conducted under this BAA satisfies the notification requirement specified in 5.a.iii below:
      1. This restriction is not applicable to any patent(s) or published patent application(s) (i) declared and/or determined to be essential to a technical standard and (ii) under an obligation that the owner of the patent or published patent application license such rights pursuant to the terms of a standards development organization’s Intellectual Property Rights policy.
      2. This restriction is not applicable to any license(s) of patent(s) or published patent application(s), including cross-licenses, resulting from settling an actual case or controversy, including patent infringement or validity disputes, whether part of a formal proceeding or not.
      3. In the event an owner or co-owner of the patent(s) resulting from R&D conducted under this BAA determines that any of the specific exceptions above applies and plans to license such patent(s) to a foreign adversary pursuant to the exception(s), the owner or co-owner must promptly disclose such action for NIST review.
   2. This restriction is not applicable to the sale of a product by a funding recipient (or any other lawful owner, assignee, transferee or licensee of the IP) and any accompanying implied or explicit intellectual property license relating to the use of the product that is sold.

3. Substantial Involvement of CRDO

CRDO intends to have ongoing and substantial programmatic involvement with the award recipient throughout the award period of performance, aimed at supporting the recipient’s activities and working jointly with the recipient in a partnership role. Primary responsibility for the operation and management of the project will reside with the award recipient; however, responsibility for specific tasks and activities may be shared between the recipient and CRDO, or between the recipient and other NIST organizations, as described in the award agreement.

4. Administrative Requirements

The CRDO award will be subject to administrative requirements set forth in the terms of the award agreement. These may include, but not be limited to, terms to ensure the appropriate use of Federal funds, compliance with programmatic requirements and commitments made by the applicant in the application, and conditions to mitigate project or applicant specific risks identified in the review process; remedies for noncompliance, including, but not limited to, temporarily withholding or suspending payments, disallowing costs, suspension or termination of the award, the return of funds made available under the award, the initiation of suspension or debarment proceedings in accordance with law; and other terms to ensure the efficient and effective execution of the project.

5. Environmental Authorizations

Certain activities may be subject to various Federal, state, and local requirements and executive orders, as applicable. CRDO may, at its discretion, request the applicant to provide additional information to support the Department’s environmental review or consultation obligations for proposed activities under consideration in connection with a Federal award made under the 2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01 BAA. CRDO may also request further supplementary written information or may ask questions during pre-selection interviews and/or site visits.

6. Davis-Bacon Requirements

All laborers and mechanics employed by the applicant, subrecipients, or contractors or subcontractors in the performance of construction, alteration, or repair work funded in whole or in part under the 2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01 BAA shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on similar projects in the locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, commonly referred to as the “Davis-Bacon Act.” Recipients of funding under the 2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01 BAA may also be required to undergo Davis-Bacon Act compliance training and to maintain competency in Davis-Bacon Act compliance.²

7. Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment

Recipients, as well as contractors and subrecipients, may not use funds received in a CRDO award for certain telecommunication and video surveillance services or equipment, as set forth in section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019 (Pub. L. No. 115- 232).

8. Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

The U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General (OIG) seeks to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department’s programs, including deterring and detecting fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. The OIG accomplishes this mission primarily through investigations, audits, and inspections of Department activities, including grants, cooperative agreements, loans, and contracts.

Disclosures. Recipients of financial assistance from the Department shall timely disclose, in writing, to the OIG and Department, whenever, in connection with the award, performance, or closeout of an award under the 2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01 BAA, the recipient suspects that a principal, employee, agent, or subrecipient has committed: (a) A violation of Federal criminal law involving fraud, conflict of interest, bribery, or gratuity violations found in Title 18 of the United States Code; or (b) A violation of the Civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733).

Reporting. The OIG maintains a hotline to receive allegations of fraud, waste, or abuse. To report such allegations, please visit https://www.oig.doc.gov/Pages/Hotline.aspx. Upon request, the OIG will take appropriate measures to protect the identity of any individual who reports misconduct, as authorized by the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended. Reports to the OIG may also be made anonymously.

9. Use of Federal Government-Owned Intellectual Property

If the applicant anticipates using any Federal government-owned intellectual property, in the custody of NIST or another Federal agency, to carry out the work proposed, the applicant must clearly identify such intellectual property in its proposal. This information will be used to ensure that no Federal employee involved in the development of the intellectual property will participate in the review process for that competition. In addition, if the applicant intends to use the Federal Government-owned intellectual property, the applicant must comply with all statutes and regulations governing the licensing of Federal government patents and inventions, described in 35 U.S.C. § 200-212, 37 C.F.R. Part 401, 2 C.F.R. § 200.315. Questions about these requirements may be directed to the Chief Counsel for NIST a via e-mail at nistcounsel [at] nist.gov (nistcounsel[at]nist[dot]gov).

Any use of Federal government-owned intellectual property by a recipient of an award under this announcement is at the sole discretion of the Federal government and will need to be negotiated on a case-by-case basis by the recipient and the Federal agency having custody of the intellectual property. The applicant must indicate within the statement of work whether it already has a license to use such intellectual property or whether it intends to seek a license from the applicable Federal agency.

If any inventions made in whole or in part by a NIST employee arise in the course of an award made pursuant to this BAA, the United States Government retains its ownership rights in any such invention.

Licensing or other disposition of the Federal government’s rights in such inventions will be determined solely by the Federal agency which is the custodian of such inventions.

10. Export Controls

Some activities may require access to export-controlled items and therefore be subject to export control laws and regulations. If an applicant is selected for an award, the applicant and all subrecipients are required to comply with United States export laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Administration Regulations. Under no circumstances may foreign entities (organizations, companies, or persons) obtain access to export-controlled items unless proper procedures have been satisfied and such access is authorized pursuant to law or regulation. If involvement of foreign entities is approved by CRDO, recipients must develop measures to properly protect export-controlled information. Approval of foreign entity involvement by CRDO does not constitute approval or waiver of any export licensing or other governmental export requirements or prohibitions.

Regarding any project-funded innovation (which may include software), recipients remain responsible for complying with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies governing intellectual property rights, licensing, and export control.

CRDO reserves the right to seek and consider additional information, including from applicants regarding their current compliance with export laws and regulations, or any pending investigations thereof, at any point in the selection process.

11. Funding Availability and Limitation of Liability

Funding for the 2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01 BAA is contingent upon the availability of funds. NIST or the Department of Commerce will not be responsible for application preparation costs, including but not limited to if this program fails to receive funding or is canceled because of agency priorities. Publication of the 2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01 BAA does not oblige NIST or the Department of Commerce to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds.

12. Management Systems and Procedures

Recipient organizations are expected to have systems, policies, and procedures in place by which they manage award funds and activities. Recipients may use their existing systems to manage award funds and activities as long as they are consistently applied regardless of the source of funds and across their business functions. To ensure that an organization is committed to compliance, recipient organizations are expected to have in use clearly delineated roles and responsibilities for their organization’s staff, both programmatic and administrative; written policies and procedures; training; management controls and other internal controls; performance assessment; administrative simplifications; and information sharing.

13. Financial Management System Standards

Recipients must have in place accounting and internal control systems that provide for appropriate monitoring of other transaction accounts to ensure that obligations and expenditures are congruent with programmatic needs and are reasonable, allocable, and allowable. In addition, the systems must be able to identify unobligated balances, accelerated expenditures, inappropriate cost transfers, and other inappropriate obligation and expenditure of funds, and recipients must notify NIST when problems are identified. A recipient’s failure to establish adequate control systems constitutes a material violation of the terms of the award.

14. Safety

NIST is committed to maintaining a work environment that safeguards the public and the environment, as well as Government personnel and property. Employees, contractors, and other associates of award recipients who conduct project work at a NIST-owned or operated site will be required to comply with all applicable NIST safety policies and procedures, and with all applicable terms of their guest research agreement.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). NIST may provide the following generic PPE: reusable hard hats, lab coats, non-prescription safety glasses, face shields, laser safety glasses, clean room PPE where required, and disposable gloves and earplugs. The employer shall provide all required person-specific, non-disposable, PPE specific to the work performed and the associated hazards. This type of PPE may include but is not limited to custom-fitted safety shoes and prescription safety glasses.

Allowable Costs. Applicants may request funding for any required person-specific, non-disposable, personal protective equipment (PPE) that is specific to the work that will be performed, as well as for any required medical services and tests. Applicants may include in the budget the costs necessary and reasonable to meet any safety equipment and medical services requirements associated with work to be performed under an award.

Medical Services Related to Safety/Hazards. NIST shall perform health hazard evaluations associated with the recipient’s employees, contractors, and associates work at a NIST-owned or operated site that involves the potential exposure to a health hazard, to make the determination of the need for medical surveillance. Award recipients are responsible for providing the medical services and tests required for any applicable medical surveillance program.

15. Compliance with Executive Orders

Incorporated by reference into U.S. Department of Commerce awards, including awards issued pursuant to the 2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01 BAA, are the policies set forth in all Executive Orders currently in legal force and effect, including those Executive Orders issued on or after January 20, 2025. A comprehensive list of Executive Orders may be found at: https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders.

In submitting an application, the applicant acknowledges that, should an award be issued, the following conditions will apply:

1. Compliance with Executive Orders: The recipient agrees to comply with the policies and to further the objectives set forth in all Executive Orders that are currently in legal effect, as well as those Executive Orders that may be issued after the effective date of an award.  This includes, but is not limited to, all Executive Orders issued on or after January 20, 2025.
2. Executive Order 14173, 90 FR 8633 (Jan. 21, 2025): The recipient agrees that —
   1. Compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the government’s payment decisions for purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of Title 31 United States Code; and
   2. Certifies to the Department that it does not operate any programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.
3. Affirmative Duty to Monitor for and to Report Potential Inconsistencies: The recipient must actively monitor its administration of an award to ensure that its activities do not violate the requirements of the award, including this award condition. At any time during the period of performance of the award, if the recipient believes that any of the activities in its approved scope of work may be inconsistent with the policies outlined in any Executive Order, the recipient has an affirmative duty to immediately stop work on those potentially inconsistent activities and immediately contact the Agreements Officer to determine whether the potentially inconsistent activities may proceed under the award.  The performance of activities that violate or that are otherwise inconsistent with one or more Executive Orders will result in appropriate enforcement action pursuant to the terms and conditions of the award.

16. Reporting Requirements

Financial and Performance Reports. Each recipient will be required to submit periodic financial, performance, and/or technical reports. Detailed reporting requirements will be outlined in the terms and conditions of the award.

Patent and Property Reports. As applicable, and in accordance with the terms and conditions governing the award, the recipient may be required to submit property and patent reports.

Audit Requirements. Any recipient that expends Federal awards of $1,000,000 or more in the recipient’s fiscal year must conduct a single or program specific audit similar to the requirements set out in the 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Subpart F. Additionally, unless otherwise specified in the terms and conditions of the award, entities that are not subject to Subpart F of 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (e.g., for-profit commercial entities) that expend $1,000,000 or more in DOC funds during their fiscal year must submit to the assigned NIST Agreements Officer either (1) a financial related audit of each DOC award or subaward in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards or (2) a project specific audit for each award or subaward with similar content to that requested in 2 C.F.R. § 200.507. Applicants are reminded that CHIPS R&D, the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, or another authorized Federal agency may conduct an audit of an award at any time.

17. Foreign Partners and Activities

Subject to CRDO review and written approval, foreign organizations may participate as members of a project team, as subrecipients, or as contractors, provided that they are not a foreign entity of concern. For the purposes of this BAA —

• a foreign entity is any entity that is not a domestic entity.
• a domestic entity is an entity (a) organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States and (b) having a principal place of business in the United States. The principal place of business generally means the place where an entity’s officers direct, control, and coordinate the entity’s activities. A foreign adversary cannot be considered a domestic entity.

Funded work must be conducted within the United States, though certain tasks outside the United States may be allowed, at the sole discretion of CRDO, based on the unique and specific capabilities available at the foreign location, their relevance to the BAA objectives, and the lack of comparable capabilities in the United States.

CRDO must provide written approval for a foreign partner’s participation in a funded project prior to the foreign partner engaging in any project-related work. Such participation may include receipt of CHIPS funding, receipt of CHIPS-funded intellectual property, or research activities occurring outside of the United States.

The applicant must provide CHIPS R&D with a written justification demonstrating:

1. That the foreign partner’s involvement is essential to advancing program objectives, such as by offering access to unique facilities, IP, or expertise that is otherwise not readily available in the United States;
2. That, if any phase of the CHIPS-funded work occurs outside the United States, this is essential and the partnership does not jeopardize the soundness of the project’s proposed pathway to domestic production.
3. The adequacy of any agreements and protocols between the applicant and foreign partner regarding IP protection and data protection;
4. As applicable, the foreign partner will comply with any necessary nondisclosure agreements, security regulations, export control laws, audit requirements, and other governing statutes, regulations, and policies;
5. The foreign entity is not based in a “foreign country of concern,” as that term is defined at 15 U.S.C. § 4651(7) and implemented by the final rule entitled Preventing the Improper Use of CHIPS Act Funding, 88 FR 65600 (Sept. 25, 2023), codified at 15 C.F.R. § 231.104; and
6. The foreign partner agrees to be subject to a security review by CHIPS R&D, which may include a risk assessment of IP leakage, if appropriate.  
    

[1] For the purposes of this BAA and as defined under 42 U.S.C. § 6605(d)(1), the term “covered individual” is defined as “an individual who (1) contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of a research and development project proposed to be carried out with a research and development award from a Federal research agency; and (2) is designated as a covered individual by the Federal research agency concerned.” Covered individuals must include any identified principal investigators, co-investigators, and associate investigators and any individual listed by the applicant as “key personnel” or as a “Senior/Key Person” or for whom a resume or CV is included. Personnel who participate only through isolated tasks that are incidental to the research (for example, setting up equipment or performing administrative functions), and those individuals who support research by executing discrete tasks as directed are not covered individuals. Disclosures from broader classes of individuals (e.g., certain graduate students and undergraduate students) will generally be unnecessary, except when the activities of such an individual in a specific proposal rise to the level of meeting the definition of a “covered individual”.

[2] The U.S. Department of Labor offers free prevailing wage seminars several times a year that meet this requirement at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/government-contracts/construction/seminars. For additional guidance on how to comply with the Davis-Bacon provisions and clauses, see https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/government-contracts/construction and https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/government-contracts/protections-for-workers-in-construction.