Trump signs resolution repealing federal contractor disclosure requirements

Washington – President Donald Trump officially has rolled back a regulation requiring prospective federal contractors to disclose labor-law violations.

Trump signed H.J. Resolution 37 into law March 27, immediately voiding the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order from the Obama administration. The Executive Order required employers bidding for federal contracts valued at $500,000 or more to disclose any of 14 established labor-law violations during the previous three years.

Supporters of the rule said it was necessary to protect workers against contractors that prioritize profits over safety. However, critics claim it punished employers based on unproven allegations of fault.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, sponsored the resolution. She praised Trump’s decision to sign the document into law.

“The flawed blacklisting rule was always completely unnecessary,” Foxx said in a press release. “There has long been a system in place to hold federal contractors accountable, and the best way to ensure fair pay and safe workplaces is to enforce that system effectively. This duplicative rule would have served only to empower union bosses, while undermining our nation’s military readiness and the ability of small businesses to compete for federal contracts.”

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the committee, said he was “disappointed” by the action.

"While most federal contractors do take responsibility for treating their workers fairly, the fact is that some federal contractors have gotten away with breaking the rules, and putting workers’ health, safety and economic security at risk,” Scott said. “Furthermore, law-abiding, responsible contractors should not be forced to compete with law-breakers who save money by failing to promote safe workplaces and to pay workers the fair wages they have earned. This is yet another example of the Trump administration failing to protect America's working families."

Jim Hoffa, general president of the Teamsters Union, also expressed his disappointment, adding that “the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order not only protected workers at federal contractors, but ensured that our tax dollars were not going to be given to companies that violate labor law.”

The House on Feb. 2 voted 236-187 to repeal the federal contractor disclosure requirements. The Senate followed March 6 with a 49-48 vote to undo the requirements.