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Today, in connection with “Equal Pay Day” ceremonies at the White House, President Obama issued an Executive Order and a Presidential Memorandum aimed at ensuring that employees of Federal government contractors and subcontractors are not discriminated against with regard to compensation on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

The Presidential Memorandum directs the Secretary of Labor to propose rules requiring Federal contractors and subcontractors to submit to the Department of Labor (DOL) summary data on the compensation paid to their employees by sex and race.  The rules must be proposed by August 6, 2014.  President Obama expects the rules to enable DOL to direct enforcement resources toward entities for which reported data suggest potential discrepancies in worker compensation.

On September 26, 2013, the Department of Defense, General Services Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration published a proposed rule in the Federal Register seeking to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) to implement recent mandates aimed at stemming human trafficking.  In addition to codifying the current zero-tolerance policy against human trafficking, FAR subpart 22.17 would impose additional requirements on all Government contractors and subcontractors for ensuring awareness, compliance and enforcement of this policy.

Yesterday a significant expansion of whistleblower protections for employees of federal contractors and subcontractors took effect.  The National Defense Authorization Act for 2013 (“NDAA”) extended whistleblower protections to an employee of a “contractor, subcontractor, or grantee” who makes a claim of gross mismanagement, gross waste, abuse of authority, a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or a violation of a law, rule, or regulation related to a federal contract.  These protections do not apply to a disclosure related to an “element of the intelligence community” under the National Security Act of 1984.    

Earlier this week, the federal district court for the District of Columbia ruled that three hospitals providing medical services through an HMO to U.S. government employees are “subcontractors” subject to OFCCP’s jurisdiction.  The decision shows that OFCCP has successfully been able to expand the definition of “subcontractor” and hence its jurisdiction to enforce affirmative action requirements.