By: Chad T. Wishchuk, Esq. and Kathleen A. Donahue, Esq. of Finch, Thornton & Baird, LLP.
Congress has voted to repeal the Department of Labor’s so-called “blacklisting rule” for federal contractors. The rule is part of President Obama’s 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, and required federal contractors to disclose labor violations committed or alleged in the last three years when bidding on federal contracts over $500,000.
Opponents of the blacklisting rule argue it violated contractors’ constitutional rights by preventing them from receiving a federal contract because of an alleged violation before any wrongdoing had been proven. Additional concerns over the blacklisting rule included that it could provide an incentive to labor unions to file frivolous labor-related charges to gain leverage for favorable union election conditions. The resolution to nullify the blacklisting rule was presented to President Trump on March 16, 2017, and is awaiting his signature. He is expected to sign it.
Until now, the blacklisting rule had not been implemented because a federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction in October 2016 preventing the rule from coming into effect for contracts over $50 million, and the rule stated it would not go into effect for contracts over $500,000 until April 25, 2017.
Please contact Chad T. Wishchuk, Esq. or Kathleen A. Donahue, Esq. of Finch, Thornton & Baird, LLP, or call us at (858) 737-3100 if you have any questions.
DISCLAIMER: This new law advisory is a publication of Finch, Thornton & Baird, LLP, for the purpose of providing information relating to recent legal developments. It is not intended, nor should it be used, as a substitute for specific legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
