2017: Schweikert 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, Schweikert 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]
2014: Schweikert Voted Against Denying Federal Defense Contracts To Companies That Have Not Paid Their Employees The Wages They Have Earned. In June 2014, Schweikert voted against an amendment to the FY 2015 Defense Appropriations bill that, according to Congressional Quarterly, "would bar the use of funds in the bill to award contracts to contractors who have violated certain wage requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act." According to the Congressional Record, the amendment's sponsor, Rep. Keith Ellison, said, "This amendment is very straightforward. [...] What it says is that, if there is a Federal contractor who has been found to engage in wage theft, that they may not benefit from this appropriation." The House agreed to the amendment by a vote of 212 to 204, and later passed the underlying bill. The bill died in the Senate. [House Vote 331, 6/19/14; Congressional Quarterly, 6/19/14; Congressional Record, 6/19/14; Congressional Actions, H. Amdt. 926; Congressional Actions, H.R. 4870]
2014: Schweikert Voted Against Denying Federal Contracts To Companies That Violate The Fair Labor Standards Act, In Particular Those That Did Not Pay Their Workers The Full Wages They Earned. In May 2014, Schweikert voted against an amendment to the FY 2015 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill that, according to Congressional Quarterly, "would bar the use of funds provided by the bill to enter contracts with contractors in violation of fair labor standards." According to the Congressional Record, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the amendment's sponsor, said, "[N]o hardworking American should ever have to worry about whether her employer will refuse to pay her when she works overtime or take money out of her paycheck, especially if she works for a Federal contractor. This practice is known as wage theft. Right now, Federal contractors who violate the Fair Labor Standards Act are still allowed to apply for Federal contracts. My amendment would deny Federal contracts to those who violate the Fair Labor Standards Act to deny workers the pay they have earned." The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 196 to 211. [House Vote 262, 5/30/14; Congressional Quarterly, 5/30/14; Congressional Record, 5/29/14; Congressional Actions, H. Amdt. 759; Congressional Actions, H.R. 4660]
Ellison: 32 Percent Of Largest Wage Theft Penalties Imposed On Federal Contractors. According to the Congressional Record, Ellison said, "So with the remainder of my time, I would like to just add that this is a very serious problem. A recent report by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the United States Senate reveals that 32 percent of the largest Department of Labor penalties for wage theft were levied against Federal contractors. There should be a consequence. Similarly, the National Employment Law Project study found that 21 percent of Federal contract workers were not paid overtime, and 11 percent have been forced to work off the clock." [Congressional Record, 5/29/14]
Amendment Opponent: "I Don't Know What It Does, And I Wouldn't Want To Vote For It Since I Don't Know What It Does." According to the Congressional Record, House Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee chairman Frank Wolf (R-VA) said, "I rise in opposition to the amendment. No one knows what the amendment does. If you know what this amendment does, you should vote for it because nobody else seems to know. And that is one of the problems of these things coming rolling in at 10:15. I don't know what it does, and I wouldn't want to vote for it since I don't know what it does. So if you know what it does and you are for it, you can vote for it. But no one knows what it does. So I strongly urge, in the interest of making sure that this place does not mess up, a 'no' vote. I yield back the balance of my time." [Congressional Record, 5/29/14]