By Kelline R. Linton,
Junior Associate.
On July 31, 2014, the President signed the Fair Pay and Safe Workplace Executive Order, which will require federal contractors to report violations of 14 federal laws and as yet unspecified state laws when bidding on service and supply contracts. This Order is effective immediately, but will start to apply to solicitations for contracts after the FAR Council issues the final rule.
The following 14 federal laws are covered by the Order: (1) The Fair Labor Standards Act; (2) The Occupational Safety and Health Act; (3) The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act; (4) The National Labor Relations Act; (5) The Davis-Bacon Act; (6) The Service Contract Act; (7) Equal Employment Opportunity Executive Order; (8) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (9) The Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974; (10) The Family and Medical Leave Act; (11) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (12) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; (13) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; and (14) Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors Executive Order.
This Order will apply to all federal contractors who bid on contracts for goods or services, where the estimated value of supplies and services exceeds $500,000. It also applies to any subcontractors, where the estimated value of the supplies and services exceeds $500,000 and is not for commercially available items.
Under the Order, the contractor will need to report any civil judgments, arbitral awards or decisions, or administrative merit determinations rendered against the contractor within the last three years for violations of the covered laws. The subcontractor will need to report the same information to the contractor. They must then update this information every six months.
If the contractor has a violation record, the federal contracting officer can refuse to award the contract. A violation during the performance of the contract may further result in remedial measures, termination of the contract, or referral to a suspending and debarring official.
Once the final rule is issued, we will provide additional guidance. In the meantime, contractors should begin to track all covered violations within the preceding three years. Please call us if you have any questions on how to comply with this new bidding requirement.
