On Sept. 10, 黑料不打烊 participated in a business community roundtable discussion on the 鈥淔air Pay and Safe Work Places鈥 Executive Order鈥 commonly referred to as the Blacklisting Executive Order 鈥 with Republican members of the House Small Business Committee. 黑料不打烊 General Counsel Mike Kennedy discussed the myriad legal and practical difficulties this executive order will present construction contractors when bidding and performing work on federal contracts.
Federal Contractors Again the Focus of Executive Action
On Labor Day, President Obama signed an executive order that would mandate direct-federal prime contractors and subcontractors to issue paid sick leave. The executive order mandates paid sick leave at a rate of no less than 1 hour earned for every 30 hours worked, setting a minimum of 56 hours a year of paid sick leave鈥攁bout seven days鈥攃overing not only employee illness, but also caring for a child, parent, spouse, domestic partner 鈥渙r any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.鈥
On Aug. 26, 黑料不打烊 submitted its comments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council and the U.S. Department of Labor on their proposed rule and guidance, respectively. The rule and guidance implement the president鈥檚 鈥淔air Pay and Safe Workplaces鈥 Executive Order 13673, commonly called the Blacklisting Executive Order.
At the request of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 黑料不打烊 recently led several workshops with Department resident engineers from around the country on the value of project-level partnering. Over the course of two days, 黑料不打烊 discussed the need for contractors and owner representatives to not only establish trust at the front end of the project, but to maintain it throughout project delivery鈥攚hether through formal or informal partnering means. Several 黑料不打烊 contractor members participated in the workshops and stressed the need for honest, consistent communication and the establishment of decision escalation processes as a means to deliver projects on time and on budget. The workshops included brief presentations from contractors, interactive team-building exercises and back and forth questions and answers between the Department engineers and 黑料不打烊 contractors. The Department held this workshop as part of a broader training initiative, the theme of which was 鈥渢urning the page鈥 on the old ways and looking towards improvement ahead.
On Oct. 1, the House approved the conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, which includes several 黑料不打烊-supported procurement reforms. These reforms would:
On September 16, the U.S. Department of Labor鈥檚 Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing a new minimum wage rate of $10.15 for direct federal contracts and subcontracts covered by Executive Order 13658. Federally assisted contracts are not affected. The rate goes into effect on January 1, 2016.
The U.S. Department of Labor鈥檚 Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently released an infographic to help veterans determine whether or not they are protected under the Vietnam Era Veterans鈥 Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA).
The U.S. Department of Labor鈥檚 Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently made available on its website a Checklist for Compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a law requiring that federal contractors take affirmative action and do not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. The new tool was created to help contractors assess their compliance with the regulations that govern the law.
Yesterday, the House passed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Accountability Act of 2015, which would allow for the department secretary to more easily remove or demote the agency鈥檚 civil service employees guilty of misconduct or found to be incompetent. The bill would also require that all probationary periods for new employees be extended from the current requirement of one year to at least 18 months. The secretary would also be able to strip pension benefits from department senior executives who are convicted of a crime that influenced their job performance. The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee approved similar legislation last week and floor action in the Senate is pending.
The highway & transit extension also includes $3.4 billion to cover a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) funding gap for the remainder of the current fiscal year, ending September 30. The department needed the additional funds to continue to pay for non-Department medical services to veterans, which were enacted last year in response to the VA hospital waiting list scandal. The need for additional funds was also necessary as the department attempts to fix problems that have plagued construction projects such as missing key decision deadlines, poor communication with construction contractors and late completion of design work. The problems on the construction side have negatively impacted health care VA funding accounts.