Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

TX judge issues preliminary injunction blocking contentious Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule

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fpsw-rule-oct-2016The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction last week against the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule, which opponents have dubbed the “blacklisting” rule.

The judge’s action blocks the Obama Administration’s regulation, which requires that contractors seeking federal work disclose recent labor law violations, from taking effect Oct. 25th, as originally scheduled.

In the decision, Judge Marcia A. Crone said the groups that initiated the suit earlier this month — including the Associated Builders and Contractors — had “properly demonstrated immediate and ongoing injury to their members if the rule is allowed to take effect,” according to Politico.

Read more here: http://www.constructiondive.com/news/tx-judge-issues-preliminary-injunction-blocking-contentious-fair-pay-and-sa/429005/ 

See Politico article here: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-shift/2016/10/texas-judge-blocks-contractor-rule-217046 

 

Two new rules impacting federal contractors expected to be finalized by year’s end

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DOLThe U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has signaled it intends to issue a final rule to fully implement the President’s July 31, 2014 “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order by August 2016.  The Order creates disclosure and compliance requirements for contractors on federal contracts valued at $500,000 or more.  Per the proposed rules, contractors must disclose violations of labor, employment, wage payment and safety laws during the contract bidding and renewal process.  The last action taken on this regulatory matter was May 2, 2016 when revised implementing rules were sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for finalization.

DOL also plans to issue a final rule that will implement the “Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Contractors” Executive Order by September 2016. Under the rule being proposed, contractors will be required to provide up to 56 hours, or 7 days, of paid sick leave per year to their employees on federal contracts entered into after January 1, 2017.  Subcontractors also will be required to provide paid sick leave to employees performing work on a covered contract.  The comment period on this new requirement closed on April 12, 2016, so it is likely that the final steps of the regulatory process will be finalized year’s end.

The status of these two rules as well as others affecting employers may be found on the U.S. Department of Labor’s spring 2016 rule list published here.

 

Executive Orders unfairly used to force ideals, contractors say

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President Barack Obama took office in 2009 promising to regulate only when necessary, but federal contractors say he is using regulation now to promote his social agenda.

EEAC“There is, I think, a long history of trying to enact change, policy you can’t get through Congress, by looking to federal contractors first,” said Michael Eastman, vice president of public policy at the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC), which represents federal contractors.

Case in point is the president’s Executive Order No. 13,673 on Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces. The order, signed on July 31, 2014, is intended to ensure contractors comply with 14 federal labor laws or equivalent state laws.

The proposed regulation implementing the order cites three studies as proof that federal contractors need better incentives to comply with labor laws. The research found a total of 104 federal contractors with egregious violations over the past decade, or about 0.4 percent of 24,000 federal contractors nationwide.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bna.com/executive-orders-unfairly-n57982064078/

Federal contractors to be burdened with additional disclosure requirements if Government has its say

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The U.S. Labor Department (DOL) and three federal agencies (the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration and NASA) recently issued two proposed documents relating to the implementation of Executive Order 13673, better known as the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order.

If enacted, these proposals would be problematic and burdensome for federal contractors; those who wish to have their voices heard on the matter have a July 27, 2015 deadline to submit comments on both documents.

The FARThe three contracting agencies issued a proposed rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) intending to ensure federal agencies contract with only those contractors that they find to be “responsible sources,” i.e. those with a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics. Under the proposed rule, affected contractors and subcontractors will be required to:

  1. disclose labor law violations within the past three years;
  2. notify workers performing under the contract how their pay is being calculated each pay period;
  3. notify independent contractors that they are being treated as such; and
  4. refrain from entering into certain pre-dispute arbitration agreements with employees or independent contractors.

The document also outlines how contracting officers, in consultation with “agency labor compliance advisors” – new positions created by the Order – will determine whether a contractor is a “responsible source.” If not, the proposal provides rules on how they can become one (e.g., requiring certain remedial measures, including a compliance agreement) or whether the contractor will instead be referred for suspension and debarment.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/404154/

Industry group wants President to rescind contractor crackdown order

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President Obama should rescind an executive order that attempts to crack down on federal contractors who violate labor laws, according to a contracting group,

Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, called The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order “unworkable” and detrimental to law-abiding companies while requiring contractors to fulfill an expensive and burdensome new regulatory requirement.

“Companies with pervasive, willful, and repeated violations of law should not be awarded federal contracts,” said Soloway. “However, as constructed, this E.O. is fundamentally unfair, vague, complex and in-executable. It will be costly, burdensome and is simply unnecessary.”

President Obama signed the executive order July 31, which requires federal contractors to disclose any labor law violations made over the last three years and for agencies to take that into account when awarding contracts.

Keep reading this article at: 

Executive order will mandate federal contractors report labor law violations

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Contractors will have to report any labor law violations to federal agencies under an executive order signed by President Obama July 31, 2014.

Contractors will need to disclose any labor law violations from the past three years before a contract can be awarded to them. Violations include family and medical leave, collective bargaining and wages.

The order would also charge agencies with taking contractor labor law violations into account when awarding contracts.

Only contracts valued at more than $500,000 would be affected and the order will be implemented in 2016.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/executive-order-will-mandate-federal-contractors-report-labor-law-violation/2014-08-04

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