I am a big believer in basic fairness: if you play by the rules, you should have the opportunity to succeed. That’s true in life and also in business. The vast majority of employers understand this principle and abide by it every day with measurable success. But I think we can all agree that those businesses that break the law by cutting corners at the expense of their workers should not benefit from taxpayer-funded federal contracts.
That’s why President Obama last year signed the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, requiring prospective federal contractors to disclose labor law violations and giving agencies more guidance on how to consider labor violations when awarding federal contracts. With this order, the president pledged to hold accountable federal contractors that put workers’ safety, hard-earned wages, and basic workplace rights at risk.
This week the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council is making good on that pledge by publishing proposed regulations to implement the order; and the Labor Department is proposing guidance that will help contracting officials and potential contractors comply.
The proposals ensure that contractors’ employees are given necessary information to make sure their paychecks are accurate. They also ensure that workers who may have had their civil rights violated or been sexually assaulted can have their day in court, ending pre-dispute mandatory arbitration agreements covering these claims at large federal contractors.
These proposals were guided by...Click here to read the rest of the blog post.
