Substantial New Rules Implementing "Fair Pay And Safe Workplaces" Executive Order Create Risks For Contractors And Subcontractors

On August 25, 2016, DoD, GSA, and NASA issued a final rule amending the FAR to implement President Obama's Executive Order on "Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces" ("E.O.") The Department of Labor ("DOL") also issued final guidance to assist in the implementation of the E.O. The new FAR rule follows a proposed FAR rule that generated substantial comments. The final rule and guidance represent significant new obligations and risks for contractors and subcontractors, who should start preparing now to address them. This post focuses on the final FAR rule because it imposes specific requirements on contractors and subcontractors. Notably, this post provides only a high-level summary because the new rule, related commentary published in the Federal Register, and DOL's guidance are lengthy and sometimes complex documents. Mayer Brown also published a Legal Update that discusses these developments in greater detail.