On July 31, President Obama signed The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (EO). This EO requires covered federal contractors periodically to disclose various labor law violations to the government prior to and following the award of a federal contract and also requires them to collect similar information from subcontractors. The executive order also (a) adopts guidelines for how reported violations should be considered by agencies in making contract awards, (b) adds new paycheck “transparency” requirements, and (c) attempts to limit the use of mandatory arbitration for certain employment disputes. The White House indicated that it expects this Executive Order to be implemented on new contracts in stages, on a prioritized basis, during 2016. The executive order first requires contractors bidding for federal procurement contracts for goods and services (including construction contracts) valued at more than $500,000 per contract to disclose to the contracting agency whether there has been “any administrative merits determination, arbitral award or decision, or civil judgment” rendered against the bidding contractor within the past three years for violations of the following 14 federal statutes, along with equivalent state laws: 1. The Fair Labor Standards Act 2. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 3. The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act 4. The National Labor Relations Act 5. The Davis-Bacon Act 6. The Service Contract Act 7. Executive Order 11246 8. Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 9. The Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 10. The Family and Medical Leave Act 11. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 12. The Americans with Disabilities Act 13. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act 14. Executive Order 13658 (establishing a minimum wage for contractors) Under this EO, a contractor’s disclosure must then be reviewed by an agency’s contracting officer to determine whether a bidding contractor is “a responsible source that has a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics” prior to making an award. A contracting officer will also, as part of this “responsibility determination,” provide the “offeror” an opportunity to disclose any steps taken to correct the violations of or improve compliance with the listed labor laws, including any agreements entered into with an enforcement agency. The contracting agency's labor compliance advisor, in consultation with relevant enforcement agencies, shall advise the contracting officer whether agreements are in place or are otherwise needed “to address appropriate remedial measures, compliance assistance, steps to resolve issues to avoid further violations, or other related matters.”
Copies of the executive order
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/31/fact-sheet-fair-pay-and-safe-workplaces-executive-order
