HR Policy Seeks One-Year Delay in Blacklisting Implementation

Employment Law

With continuing hopes that either Congress or the federal courts will block the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces (a.k.a., Blacklisting) Executive Order, HR Policy and five other business groups are pressing for a one-year delay in the final rule to allow companies to develop and implement the necessary information-gathering tools to be in compliance with the new regulation.  Under the final rule, beginning October 25, 2016, employers who bid on federal contracts worth $50 million or more will have to report whether or not they have had any "violations" related to 14 federal labor and employment laws in the past year.  The reporting requirement broadly includes myriad allegations of violations that have not been fully adjudicated or otherwise resolved (e.g., National Labor Relations Board complaints).  In a letter to the Obama administration, we state: "Our members who are facing the October 25 implementation date have made clear how difficult meeting this implementation date will be, with some even suggesting it may not be possible," because many "companies do not currently track these actions at the initial enforcement level" as required, and "may not know on a comprehensive basis, whether there are any outstanding charges, or any that have been resolved within the relevant time period."