On September 17, 2014, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on Government Contractors, Prohibitions Against Pay Secrecy Policies and Actions, implementing Executive Order 13665. The executive order, signed by President Obama on April 8, 2014, amended section 202 of Executive Order 11246 to include prohibiting contractors from discriminating against an employee or applicant that has inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own compensation or that of another employee or applicant. The proposed rule, which will be open to public comments for 90 days, can be found at: http://http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-09-17/pdf/2014-21945.pdf.
The NPRM suggests several changes in order to implement EO 13665. The proposed rule would modify the Equal Opportunity Clause of Executive Order 11246 to include the prohibition of Federal contractors and subcontractors discharging or otherwise discriminating against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants. There is an exception if the employee or applicant discloses compensation based on information obtained in the course of performing his or her essential job functions, allowing for contractor defenses to allegations of discrimination. The NPRM would also require federal contractors to incorporate the nondiscrimination provisions into their employee manuals or handbooks, and disseminate it to employees and applicants. Additionally, definitions would be added for compensation, compensation information, and essential job functions.
Please contact us by calling (732) 446-2529 or sending us an e-mail at glennbarlett@gbcs.net if you are interested in discussing the NPRM.