On August 24, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) issued the final rules and implementation guidelines for EO13673: Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces.

Commonly referred to as the "Blacklisting Rule," the Executive Order includes a phased-in implementation schedule that will go into effect October 25, 2016. The DOL began offering voluntary pre-assessments of compliance history for current and prospective contractors on September 12, 2016 to assist in preparation of mandatory assessment requirements scheduled to begin October 25, 2017.

To learn more about the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Order, visit the Department of Labor's website or the Federal Register.

Click here to read the Official News Release from August 24, 2016.

The OFCCP's Final Rule on Sex Discrimination took effect last month, on August 15, 2016. Many of you already know that sex discrimination has been illegal since at least 1964, when the Civil Rights Act was enacted. Pay discrimination based on sex has been illegal since at least 1963. Most employers know they cannot base employment decisions and practices on sex. Yet the OFCCP has issued new rules on sex discrimination. Why? The OFCCP says its previous guidelines and regulations were "outdated".

Click here to read the complete article.

For more information on the OFCCP's Final Rule, click here.

In July, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued revisions to its proposal to expand pay data collection from federal contractors and employers with more than 100 workers. The revised proposal requires the use of W-2 wages and salary reports, and pushes the reporting deadline for 2017 data out to March 31, 2018.

To review the EEOC's question and answer page, click here.

For related articles, visit Lexology.com or FisherPhillips.com.

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor is issuing this notice to announce the applicable minimum wage rate to be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with Federal contracts covered by Executive Order 13658, beginning January 1, 2017.

Executive Order 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors, was signed by President Barack Obama on February 12, 2014, and raised the hourly minimum wage paid by contractors to workers performing work on covered Federal contracts to: $10.10 per hour, beginning January 1, 2015; and beginning January 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, an amount determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the methodology set forth in the Order. The Secretary's determination of the Executive Order minimum wage rate also affects the minimum hourly cash wage that must be paid to tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts. The Secretary is required to provide notice to the public of the new minimum wage rate at least 90 days before such rate is to take effect. The applicable minimum wage under Executive Order 13658 is currently $10.15 per hour, in effect since January 1, 2016. The applicable minimum cash wage that generally must be paid to tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts is currently $5.85 per hour, in effect since January 1, 2016.

Pursuant to Executive Order 13658 and its implementing regulations at 29 CFR part 10, notice is hereby given that beginning January 1, 2017, the Executive Order minimum wage rate that generally must be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $10.20 per hour. Notice is also hereby given that, beginning January 1, 2017, the required minimum cash wage that generally must be paid to tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $6.80 per hour.

Read the Federal Register Notice here

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