Friday, August 8, 2014

Executive Order Increases Scrutiny of Past Contractor Conduct

Bloomberg BNA reports that President Obama has signed the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces" executive order, which requires prospective federal contractors to inform agencies of past violations of federal wage, discrimination, safety and health, family and medical leave, labor and other workplace laws. White House officials say this order reflects the president’s belief that “taxpayer dollars should not reward employers that break the law.”
©Diadem Images/Jonathan P. Larsen

Starting in 2016, new federal contracts valued at more than $500,000 will prompt companies to reveal any workplace violations from the past 3 years before becoming eligible for a contract, according to a White House fact sheet.

“Contractors that consistently adhere to labor laws are more likely to have workplace practices that enhance productivity and increase the likelihood of timely, predictable and satisfactory delivery of goods and services to the federal government,” the executive order says.

The order applies to all contracts for goods and services including construction. It will track contract applicants' recent violations of the following:
  • Fair Labor Standards Act;
  • Occupational Safety and Health Act;
  • Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act;
  • National Labor Relations Act;
  • Davis-Bacon Act;
  • Service Contract Act;
  • EO 11,246 on equal employment opportunity;
  • Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act;
  • Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act;
  • Family and Medical Leave Act;
  • Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act;
  • Americans with Disabilities Act;
  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act;
  • EO 13,658, the Feb. 2 executive order on the minimum wage for contractors' employees; and
  • equivalent state laws as defined by the Department of Labor.

White House officials emphasized that this order is not intended to punish federal contractors, and those with relatively clean records should see little or no difference in their pursuit of federal contracts. At present, there has been no specific number of violations that would disqualify a company, but administration officials say one violation would not take a company out of the running.

Bloomberg’s report says industry groups have responded with skepticism.

“Effectively, the president is sanctioning a practice known as ‘blacklisting' companies from federal contracts due to even minor infractions of complex labor laws,” says Joe Trauger, vice president of human resources policy for the National Association of Manufacturers.