Oppose CRA to repeal Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order

Recipient: Senator Mitch McConnell and Senator Charles Schumer

View the PDF of this letter here.

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Senate Majority Leader
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Charles Schumer
Senate Minority Leader
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator McConnell and Senator Schumer, 

On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, we write in strong opposition to the use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal the regulations implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order.

The Fair Pay regulations represent a much-needed step forward in ensuring that the federal contractor community is providing safe and fair workplaces for employees by encouraging compliance with federal labor and civil rights laws, and prohibiting the use of mandatory arbitration of certain disputes.

Employers that have the privilege of doing business with the federal government also have a responsibility to abide by the law. The Fair Pay regulations are crucial because they help ensure that federal contractors behave responsibly and ethically with respect to labor standards and civil rights laws. They also encourage companies applying for federal contracts to comply with federal civil rights laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (which includes the Equal Pay Act), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and their state law equivalents. The Executive Order also bans contractors from forcing employees to arbitrate claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as well as claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

We urge you to oppose any attempts to roll back the protections that stem from the Executive Order on Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces. The Order and implementing regulations provide strong protections against the federal government contracting with employers that routinely engage in discrimination based on race, sex, age, or disability, violate workplace health and safety protections, withhold wages, or commit other labor violations.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact June Zeitlin, Director of Human Rights Policy at [email protected] or 202-263-2852.

Sincerely,

Wade Henderson
President & CEO

Nancy Zirkin
Executive Vice President