“The proposed guidance and regulations the U.S. Department of Labor and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) issued this morning, implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order, are reasonable and appropriate and will help keep billions of taxpayer dollars from being used to support unlawful employer behavior. The executive order incentivizes workplace fairness and appropriate employer conduct, and makes it clear that companies that violate labor laws will face consequences. That, in turn, will help prevent millions of workers from being subject to harmful or unlawful treatment.
Today’s actions from the Labor Department and the FAR Council are good news for workers, taxpayers and the nation — and a major step forward in ensuring only companies that abide by our nation’s labor laws get federal contracts. No worker should have her or his rights undermined, especially not at the hands of a company that contracts with the federal government. And no employer that flouts laws that promote fairness and worker safety should benefit from a federal contract. Employers that play by the rules have nothing to fear.
More than one in five people in this country are employed by a federal contractor, which makes executive actions such as this one very significant. Until recently, there has been little attention to whether contracts are awarded to companies that have broken federal workplace laws — such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act — or required mandatory pre-dispute arbitration agreements for victims of civil rights violations, sex discrimination and sexual assault. Following today’s action, the regulatory process should continue without delay to enhance accountability and, ultimately, strengthen our nation’s workplaces.”
