View source for Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order

[[File:Obama_signs_Fair_Pay_EO_-_photo_Pete_Souza.jpg|400px|right|thumb|President Barack Obama signs the "Fair Pay and Safe Workplace" executive order, July 31, 2014. Official White House photo by [https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/05/27/implementing-fair-pay-and-safe-workplaces-executive-order Pete Souza], available under a [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ Creative Commons Attribution license].]]The '''Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order''' (Executive Order 13673, hereafter "the E.O.") is an executive order issued under President Obama on July 31, 2014 that aims to ensure that federal contractors comply with federal wage laws, health and safety standards, and civil rights laws.<ref name="eo">President Barack Obama, "[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/31/executive-order-fair-pay-and-safe-workplaces Executive Order -- Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces]," Executive Order, July 31, 2014.</ref>  Federal contractors are pushing back hard on the E.O. Please see the Sourcewatch.org profiles of the [[HR Policy Association]] and the [[Professional Services Council]] for more. 

See the February 2016 special report from the Center for Media and Democracy [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/02/13041/federal-contractors-osha-violators-battle-new-rules "Reporter's Guide: Federal Contractors with History of Repeat OSHA Violations Battle New Safety Rules.]"

In 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated that some 24,000 businesses have federal contracts.<ref name="fact sheet">White House, Office of the Press Secretary, "[https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/31/fact-sheet-fair-pay-and-safe-workplaces-executive-order FACT SHEET: Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order]," fact sheet, July 31, 2014.</ref> But "the opportunity to contract with the federal government is a privilege, not an entitlement. Taxpayer dollars should not reward corporations that break the law, and contractors who meet their responsibilities should not have to compete against those who do not," U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said of the E.O.<ref name="dol release">U.S. Department of Labor, "[http://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/oasp/oasp20151046 Department of Labor and Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council Propose Guidance, Rule to Implement Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order]," press release, May 27, 2015.</ref>

Lobbyists and trade associations that represent major contractors, including the [[HR Policy Association]] and the [[Professional Services Council]], have been major opponents of the E.O. Many of their member companies and/or member companies' subsidiaries have histories of labor law violations that would be actionable under the E.O. See more below. 

See [[#Related_Articles|Related Articles]] for links to additional reports and information on federal contractors, the E.O., and other labor issues.