Partners Explain How Habitual OSHA Violations Could Prevent Contractors from Securing Public Contracts

Dr. David Michaels, former Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, suggested in a recent tweet that a certain construction contractor be banned from work on public lands because the company had pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a worker’s death. Michaels’ tweet hearkens back to the Obama-era’s “Fair Play and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order, which allowed federal contracting officers to consider safety violations when awarding government contracts, putting companies with records of numerous serious, repeated or willful OSHA violations at risk of being denied work.

Although President Trump invalidated the blacklisting rule, Charlotte partner Travis Vance and Pittsburgh partner Patrick Dennison write in Rock Road Recycle that it is still possible the government could hinder a company’s ability to secure public contracts because of habitual OSHA violations. And, although it’s unlikely the current administration would enact such a process, blacklisting remains a possible legal maneuver a future administration could unleash.

To read the article, visit Rock Road Recycle.