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 OASAMâs 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 Agencyâs Mission
With its mission to, âfoster, 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,â 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.
Form DL1-7013 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Contractor Preassessment
Justification for No Material Change.docx
Emergency Clearance Memo_FPSW EO_signed20160816.pdf
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Contractor Preassessment