"Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces" Provisions Proposed

The U.S. Labor Department, the Defense Department, the General Services Administration, and NASA have jointly published proposed requirements and related guidance under Executive Order 13673, the "Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order".

The stated intention is to ensure that federal agencies contract only with those contractors having a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics. However, if the proposals become final as they are currently written, they will present many challenges for federal contractors while at the same time disserving the articulated goal in significant ways.

Public comments are due by July 27, 2015.