2017: Fitzpatrick Voted To Disapprove A Rule Requiring That Federal
Contractors That Exceed $500,000 Disclose If They Were Subject To
Violations Of Federal Labor Laws Or State Laws Within The Previous Three
Years. In February 2017, Fitzpatrick voted for disapproving a rule via
the Congressional Rule Act that required large federal contractors
disclose violations of federal labor laws via the Congressional Review
Act. According to Congressional Quarterly, "This resolution disapproves
the rule issued by the Defense Department, the General Services
Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on
Aug. 25, 2016, relating to the Federal Acquisition Regulation and
commonly known as the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Rule. The rule
requires that for federal purchases exceeding $500,000, the offeror
must disclose whether it has been the subject of any violations of 14
specified federal labor laws and equivalent state laws within the
preceding three years, requires federal contractors to provide certain
pay and hours information to all workers on each pay stub and restricts
the automatic use of arbitration clauses. The measure provides that the
rule will have no force or effect." The vote was on the legislation. The
House agreed to the legislation by a vote of 236 to 187. The president
later signed the legislation into law. [House Vote 76,
2/2/17; Congressional
Quarterly, 1/27/17;
Congressional Actions, H. J. Res.
37]
The Labor Laws Include The Fair Labor Standards Act, Occupational
Safety And Health Act, National Labor Relations Act, Davis-Bacon
Act, Family And Medical Leave Act, Civil Rights Act And Americans
With Disabilities Act. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Rule requires that for purchases
exceeding $500,000, the offeror (the firm bidding to become a
government contractor) must disclose whether it has been the subject
of any administrative merits determination, arbitral award or
decision or civil judgment within the preceding three years for
violations of 14 specified federal labor laws and equivalent state
laws. The laws include the Fair Labor Standards Act, Occupational
Safety and Health Act, National Labor Relations Act, Davis-Bacon
Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Civil Rights Act and Americans
with Disabilities Act, among others. After receiving the award of a
government contract, prime contractors must provide the labor law
information to a government database and must update the information
semi-annually. Prime contractors must make determinations of
responsibility for prospective subcontractors, as long as the
subcontracts exceed $500,000 and are for goods and services other
than those commercially available off-the-shelf." [Congressional
Quarterly, 1/27/17]
Rule Also Required That Covered Contractors Provide Certain Pay
And Hour Information To All Workers And Restricted The Use Of
Automatic Arbitration Clauses. According to Congressional
Quarterly, "The rule includes pay transparency provisions that
require covered contractors and subcontractors to provide all
workers with certain information regarding their pay and hours in
each pay stub. It also restricts the use of arbitration agreements
for contracts that exceed $1 million. Arbitration clauses for
claims arising from civil rights violations, sexual assault or
harassment can only be invoked with the voluntary consent of the
employees or independent contractors after the dispute arises under
the rule." [Congressional Quarterly,
1/27/17]
Rule Being Repealed Included Protections For Victims Of Sexual
Harassment. According to Politico, "Not long before a deluge of
sexual harassment claims engulfed Capitol Hill, congressional
Republicans and President Donald Trump quietly repealed safeguards
to protect hundreds of thousands of American workers from such
harassment. Their target was an August 2016 regulation issued by the
Obama Labor Department that required businesses to disclose certain
labor violations --- including sexual harassment --- whenever they
bid on large federal contracts. The vote last year is especially
relevant now that Congress, under immense public pressure, is
weighing legislation to outlaw the very same secrecy agreements that
it voted to keep legal less than a year ago. The regulation in
question was one of 14 reversed by congressional resolutions that
Trump signed into law last year as part of his much-touted war
against 'job-killing regulations.' Besides requiring disclosure, the
rule forbade the biggest federal contractors from forcing workers to
take their grievances to arbitration, where employees are likelier
to lose, than in the courts; in addition, the private proceedings
are typically kept secret. Mandatory arbitration clauses played a
key role in keeping secret the sexual harassment settlements that
piled up over decades at Fox News and elsewhere. Gretchen Carlson,
who in 2016 settled a sexual harassment complaint against the late
Fox News chairman Roger Ailes for a reported $20 million, has made
the elimination of mandatory arbitration clauses the centerpiece of
a campaign against sexual harassment." [Politico,
1/2/18]
NOTE TO RESEARCHER. -- Find companies that would have been
subject to this rule that the target is a) invested in b) has
received campaign donations from. [Congressional Quarterly,
1/27/17]