Federal Judges Blocks Provisions of Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Rules

A day before they were to take effect, a U.S. District Judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction against the disclosure and arbitration agreement provisions of the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Rules (Executive Order 13673) that took effect Tuesday, Oct. 25. The disclosure rule required any company applying for a federal contract to disclose any prior labor law violations, and the arbitration agreement clause prohibited the use of such agreements in many circumstances. The rules taking effect today apply to firms seeking government contracts of $50 million or more. On April 25, 2017, that threshold will be lowered to contracts of $500,000 or more. The ruling left intact the pay transparency requirements scheduled to kick in on Jan. 1, 2017.