The Department of Labor (DOL) has released the final rules for implementing President Obama’s two-year-old Fair Pay And Safe Workplaces executive order.
The July 2014 post, Obama’s ‘Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order’, explained the order:
Saying that “taxpayer dollars should not reward corporations that break the law,” President Obama on Thursday issued another executive order designed to help low-wage workers.
… President Obama’s executive order cracks down on federal contractors who break hiring, health and safety, and wage laws. It also prohibits employers from requiring mandatory arbitration agreements with employees of federal contractors, in order that workers can get their day in an actual court instead of being forced to appear in front of an arbitrator picked and paid for by the company when there is a dispute involving the Civil Rights Act or related to sexual assault or harassment.
Specifically, the new rules require companies that bid on federal contracts to disclose wage and hour, safety and health, collective bargaining, family and medical leave, and civil rights violations from the prior three years. Federal contractor hiring officers are to take serious violations into account before awarding contracts.
Hold Companies Accountable
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, the sponsor of the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Actto combat wage theft and require employers to provide timely paychecks, issued a statement tying the new rule to the plight of Senate cafeteria workers who work for contractor Restaurant Associates,
“We’ve seen what happens when federal contractors like Restaurant Associates don’t treat our workers fairly – employees are deprived of wages and protections that all our workers deserve,” said Brown. “This executive order will hold companies like Restaurant Associates and anyone who does business with the federal government accountable and improve the lives of millions of Americans who work for federal government contractors. I’m pleased the Department of Labor issued this guidance so we can improve oversight of contractors.”
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued this statement:
The AFL-CIO applauds the Administration for moving forward with regulations and guidance implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order. This measure will make our contracting system more fair and accountable, which is good for working families, law-abiding employers, and communities. Companies that receive taxpayer-funded contracts should obey the law and respect their employees’ rights, and with today’s actions, the Administration has taken an important step in moving that common-sense principle forward.
The Teamsters issued a statement celebrating the final rules, titled, “Teamsters Voice Support For Fair Pay And Safe Workplaces Executive Order“:
“The Teamsters Union fully supports President Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “It will not only protect the millions of workers that are employed by federal contractors, but it will ensure that taxpayer money is not being handed to companies that blatantly violate labor and workplace laws.”
The executive order will put in place regulations that will address key issues workers are faced with on the job at federal contractors including wage theft, safety violations and discrimination. The union passed a resolution supporting the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order at its International Convention this past June:
“Be it resolved at this 29th International Convention that the Teamsters are committed to fighting for full implementation of the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order and for the fundamental principle that employers who receive federal taxpayers’ money should comply with federal labor law.”
“Will Hamstring Employers And Contractors”
The Daily Caller story, “Obama Issues Order That Will Hamstring Employers And Contractors“, provides the Republican view, saying that actually having to pay employees and comply with the law, not cheat them, will “hamstring” businesses:
The rule was blasted by employers, who asserted that it would result in fewer qualified bids for federal contracts. The Associated Builders and Contractors told The Wall Street Journal the rules, “will result in needless delays and litigation, crippling the contract award process.”
Three House Republican lawmakers with the Committee on Education and the Workforce criticized the rule, saying that, “unfortunately, this administration would rather spend time and resources creating new layers of bureaucracy instead of using its existing authority to enforce current protections.” Chairman John Kline of Minnesota, along with Reps. Tim Walberg of Michigan and Phil Roe of Tennessee, went on to say that, “This redundant, unnecessary, and unworkable regulatory scheme isn’t about protecting the rights of workers. It’s about growing government and promoting a culture of union favoritism.”
This post originally appeared on ourfuture.org on August 25, 2016. Reprinted with Permission.
Dave Johnson has more than 20 years of technology industry experience. His earlier career included technical positions, including video game design at Atari and Imagic. He was a pioneer in design and development of productivity and educational applications of personal computers. More recently he helped co-found a company developing desktop systems to validate carbon trading in the US.
