Obama’s contractor ‘blacklisting rule’ bites dust with stroke of Trump pen

Sources: White House Briefing Room; Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

President Donald Trump has signed House Joint Resolution 37, which rolls back his predecessor’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order 13673 and relieves federal contractors and subcontractors of onerous paperwork and compliance terms attending what critics called the “blacklisting rule.”

Read More

Constitutional protections thwart White House’s ‘blacklisting rule’

Sources: Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

Free speech and due process protections in the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution frame a judge’s preliminary injunction order that prevents the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council from implementing key provisions of its final rule—plus companion Department of Labor (DOL) guidance—supporting President Barack Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order.

Read More

AGC, ABC document Obama order’s certain harm to competition, small businesses

Sources: Associated General Contractors of America, Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

ABC and AGC have been among the most vocal “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” critics since President Obama added it to his expansive executive order roster in June 2014. Response to the Labor Department and Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council announcement of a final rule implementing the order show neither group changing its tune.

Read More

Agencies peg October target for federal contractor ‘blacklisting’ rule

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

To ensure federal contractors better comply with laws that protect their workers’ safety, wages and civil rights, the Labor Department and Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council have issued final regulations and guidance implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, a contentious measure top construction officials dub the “blacklisting rule.”

Read More