The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces
Executive Order (E.O. 13673) was signed by President Barack Obama
on July 31, 2014, to increase efficiency and cost savings in the
work performed by parties who contract with the Federal Government
by ensuring that they understand and comply with labor laws. As
part of the E.O. implementation scheme, current and prospective
Federal contractors will be able to participate in a Preassessment
Program wherein they disclose their labor law history to the
Department of Labor independent of a contract award
solicitation.
The Agency has
determined the collection of information is needed prior to the
expiration of the time periods established by the PRA. The
collection is essential to the mission of the Agency, and the
Agency cannot reasonably comply with normal PRA clearance
procedures because public harm is reasonably likely to result if
normal clearance procedures are followed. Our analysis is as
follows. Regular Clearance Procedures Not Feasible in this
Situation The FAR Rule and DOL Guidance, which direct the Fair Pay
and Safe Workplaces E.O. implementation, are being published in the
Federal Register on or about August 25, 2016, and Preassessment
would begin on September 12, 2016. Given the publication timeline,
DOL could not use the regular clearance procedures. DOL OASAM
requests OMB approval for emergency clearance to remove the
requirement for a public comment period, and to approve DOL OASAM’s
request by September 9, 2016. The Agency will seek public comment
once the collection is in place in anticipation of extending the
approval for the information collection. Collection Essential to
Agency’s Mission With its mission to, “foster, promote, and develop
the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the
United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities
for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and
rights,” DOL was specifically named as the lead implementing agency
for the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces E.O. Providing prospective
contractors the opportunity to receive advice from DOL on labor law
history violations and compliance, as well as methods proactively
to remediate issues independent of a specific acquisition is a
central principle to the E.O. and the FAR Rule and DOL Guidance.
Approving an emergency clearance will allow DOL OASAM to fulfill
its mission, as well as fulfill all responsibilities dictated in
the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces E.O. Public Harm Without the
Preassessment Form, current and prospective government contractors
will not feasibly be able to request a review of their labor law
compliance history independent of a solicitation. The Preassessment
program was developed to benefit contractors and help keep them
competitive and compliant with the law. Participation in
Preassessment is at the option of the contractor and enables
prospective contractors to develop a labor compliance agreement and
start taking steps to mitigate issues before there is a specific
acquisition, as well as use the Preassessment outcome and/or labor
compliance agreement as a mitigating factor in future acquisitions.
In addition, if a contractor that has been assessed by DOL
subsequently submits a contract bid, and the contracting officer
initiates a responsibility determination for the contractor, the
contracting officer and the ALCA may rely on the DOL assessment
that the contractor has a satisfactory record of labor law
compliance unless additional labor law decisions have been
disclosed. Without approval of this collection, a prospective
contractor may be less competitive. Finally, DOL strongly believes
that agreements reached under the Preassessment Program can be an
important tool in ensuring that workers on covered Federal
contracts will receive the worker protections to which they are
entitled by law.
EO: EO
13673 Name/Subject of EO: The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces
Executive Order
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.