Headline News
Teamsters Denounce Lawsuit to Block Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order
(WASHINGTON) – The Teamsters Union strongly opposes a lawsuit filed last week on behalf of more than 400,000 federal contractors that seeks to block the implementation of a critical executive order that would establish much-needed worker protections. The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, which will go into effect on Oct. 25, will put strong protections in place for workers that are employed by government contractors.
Originally announced in July 2014, Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces will establish clear guidelines for federal agencies to reference when reviewing companies for government contracts. The executive order will hold companies that contract with the government accountable for violating workplace laws and prevent bad actors from receiving federal contracts.
“These federal contractors are only interested in being allowed to continue to exploit workers to increase their profits,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. . “The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order will go a long way toward stopping companies that violate labor law from being rewarded with taxpayer-funded federal contracts.”
The executive order will put in place regulations that will address key issues workers are faced with on the job at federal contractors including wage theft, safety violations and discrimination. A U.S. Senate investigation revealed that federal contractors were responsible for nearly one-third of the largest U.S. Department of Labor penalties for wage theft and other legal violations. In fact, a separate report from the National Employment Law Project found that a third of low-wage federal contract workers have been victims of wage theft.
Despite all of this evidence revealing the abuse of federal contract workers, the Government Accountability Office found that federal contractors that have violated labor law have continued to receive government contracts because of a lack of oversight and enforcement.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.teamster.org.