Yesterday, federal contractors received a reprieve from one of President Obama’s executive orders.  Late on October 24, 2016, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction halting implementation of certain provisions of the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (E.O. 13637) and the Final Rule implementing that order.  The injunction applies nationwide and blocks two key provisions of the Final Rule which affected government contractors: (1) disclosure and disqualification requirements; and, (2) a prohibition on pre-dispute arbitration agreements.

The preliminary injunction blocks the portions of E.O. 13637 and its Final Rule, which are also known as “blacklisting rules.”  Those rules require federal contractors to disclose adverse findings and decisions related to their compliance with federal and state labor and employment laws.  The blacklisting rules also allow federal agencies to deny contracts to employers who are deemed to lack a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics based on such disclosures.  The blacklisting rules were supposed to take effect on October 25, 2016.

E.O. 13637 and its Final Rule also prohibit certain federal contractors from requiring pre-dispute arbitration agreements from its employees for disputes under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or claims arising out of or related to sexual harassment.  The injunction also blocked those arbitration restrictions.

Importantly, the federal judge did not issue an injunction related to “paycheck transparency” provisions of E.O. 13637 and its Final Rule.  Those provisions will go into effect for solicitations or contract amendments made on or after January 1, 2017. Under the “paycheck transparency” provisions, covered contractors and subcontractors must provide wage statements to covered workers.  Those statements must give workers information concerning hours worked, overtime hours, pay, and any additions to or deductions made from pay.