President Obama recently signed the most recent in a series of Executive Orders aimed at federal contractors. The Fair Pay and Safe Working Conditions Executive Order requires contractors bidding on federal procurement contracts valued at more than $500,000 to disclose labor law violations for the past three years. The "labor law violations" include an "administrative merits determination", arbitration award or civil judgment against the contractor for a violation of any of the following federal laws and executive orders as well as equivalent state laws:
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The Americans with Disabilities Act;
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The Fair Labors Standards Act (wage hour);
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The Occupational Safety and Health Act;
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The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act;
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The National Labor Relations Act;
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The Davis-Bacon Act;
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Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act;
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The Service Contract Act;
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The Vietnam Era Veterans Re-adjustment Act;
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The Family and Medical Leave Act;
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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act; and
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Executive Order 11246 and 13658
The Executive Order directs contracting officers to consider the reported violations when awarding contracts, exercising options, terminating contracts and making suspension and debarment referrals.
Once selected, a contractor is required to update the listing every six months and to obtain similar information from their sub-contractors.
This Executive Order, which will be implemented by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance of the Department of Labor, increases federal contractors reporting obligations. More importantly, it increases the pressure to settle claims since only merit determinations, not settlements, are required to be reported.