By Linda H. Evans,
Senior Associate.
On April 8, 2014, the President signed a memo that would require government contractors to submit extensive reporting on their salary practices. Additionally, he signed an executive order applicable to government contractors that prohibits any retaliation against individuals when there has been a disclosure of salary information.
The concern about these items is that they impose special requirements only on government contractors. With these two new mandates, along with the earlier one raising minimum wage only for government contractors, it appears that a broad employment reform agenda is being carried out on a discrete group of employers.
The President is requesting that within four months the Department of Labor (“DOL”) propose a rule that would compel federal contractors and subcontractors to submit to the DOL summary data on the compensation paid their employees, including data by sex and race. There is concern that this proposal not only duplicates laws already in place today, but also represents another potentially disruptive, costly, and unique requirement imposed on just government contractors.
We’ll keep you informed as these rules develop.
