Group sues Feds over labor violations reporting rule

The construction industry’s leading trade group is suing the Obama administration over a rule requiring prospective federal contractors to report any labor law violations they’ve had in the past three years before bidding on a government contract.

{mosads}Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and its southeast Texas chapter filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the final rule, which came from the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order that President Obama issued in July 2014.

In the suit, ABC argues that the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and the Labor Department overstepped their executive authority in issuing the rule and subsequent guidance.

“Under the guise of increasing efficiency and cost savings in federal contracting, the Executive Branch is imposing new regulatory burdens on government contractors that exceed and contradict Congress’s carefully balanced labor and employment law statutory scheme,” said the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Critics claim the regulation finalized in August “blacklists” prospective firms from the procurement process. 

ABC is specifically arguing against the requirement to publicly disclose violations of any of the 14 federal labor laws even if those violations are being challenged in court or have been settled without any actual violation of the law.