But the federal
government did little to ensure that these companies clean up their
acts before they collected tens of millions in contracts. A 2013 report
from Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) found that the government awarded
companies with the most egregious records of violating workplace wage
and safety records $81 billion in 2012 alone.
In effect, the federal government has been subsidizing contractor misconduct with our tax dollars. As long as federal contractors have known that their lawbreaking would not jeopardize the next contract, they have had little financial incentive to stop mistreating their workers.
By signing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, President Obama signaled that it's time for this to stop. The order will ensure that federal contractors obey workplace laws before receiving government contracts.
Once implemented, the order:
" Will require federal contractors to disclose their record of compliance with workplace laws;
" Will ensure that law-breaking companies clean up their acts by empowering federal agencies to consult with the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate and remediate ongoing problems with contractors.
This report helps to put a face to the millions of workers the order is designed to protect. Through press accounts and personal interviews, CorpWatch documents the stories of Rodney Bridgett, Calvin Bryant, and Alma Aranda, explaining how their employers ignored basic workplace safety rules or undermined an employee's legal right to unpaid leave in the case of a medical emergency, yet still managed to secure tens of millions of dollars in federal money.
For far too long, federal contractors have been able to cheat or injure their employees, secure in the knowledge that their lawbreaking will not count against them when their contracts come up for renewal. Once implemented, the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order will take that security away from them.
The full report "Subsidizing Contractor Misconduct: Three Contractors Who Won Big Despite Egregious Labor Violations" can be downloaded here.
In effect, the federal government has been subsidizing contractor misconduct with our tax dollars. As long as federal contractors have known that their lawbreaking would not jeopardize the next contract, they have had little financial incentive to stop mistreating their workers.
By signing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, President Obama signaled that it's time for this to stop. The order will ensure that federal contractors obey workplace laws before receiving government contracts.
Once implemented, the order:
" Will ensure that law-breaking companies clean up their acts by empowering federal agencies to consult with the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate and remediate ongoing problems with contractors.
This report helps to put a face to the millions of workers the order is designed to protect. Through press accounts and personal interviews, CorpWatch documents the stories of Rodney Bridgett, Calvin Bryant, and Alma Aranda, explaining how their employers ignored basic workplace safety rules or undermined an employee's legal right to unpaid leave in the case of a medical emergency, yet still managed to secure tens of millions of dollars in federal money.
For far too long, federal contractors have been able to cheat or injure their employees, secure in the knowledge that their lawbreaking will not count against them when their contracts come up for renewal. Once implemented, the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order will take that security away from them.
The full report "Subsidizing Contractor Misconduct: Three Contractors Who Won Big Despite Egregious Labor Violations" can be downloaded here.
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