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.”
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| ©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.