Federal Spotlight: Comment period open on Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order

July 9, 2015

The Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy held a regional roundtable on July 2 to discuss the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order signed by President Obama in July 2014. Rachel Geilenfeld attended the roundtable with small business owners, government officials, and attorneys.

This order requires any potential federal contractors bidding on projects to disclose violations of certain federal labor laws going back three years as part of the bidding process. These laws include the Fair Labor Standards Act, OSHA, NLRA, and FMLA, among others. The offeror must also disclose violations of “equivalent state laws.” Some in the business community raise concerns that this order adds yet another reporting burden on companies, many of whom have never violated federal labor laws. In addition, the order would be carried out by a politically-appointed official whose authority and qualifications may not be well-defined enough yet.

The U.S. Department of Labor has published guidance on the order in the Federal Register and it is open to public comment until Aug. 11. For more information, please contact Rachel at rachel@iowaabi.org or 515-235-0567. For additional guidance on this order, click here