President Trump Rolls Back ‘Blacklisting’ Rule
This week, President Donald Trump signed House Joint Resolution 37, which stated Congress’ disapproval of the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule, in addition to stating that “such rule shall have no force or effect.”
The order was signed by President Barack Obama in 2014, and required companies to disclose any violations under 14 labor law protections that occurred within the past three years.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer stated that, by signing this joint resolution, the president is helping to “roll back job killing rules.”
“The rule simply made it too easy for trial lawyers to go after American companies and American workers who contracted with the federal government,” Spicer said.
To pass this resolution, Congress utilized the infrequently used Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress review and overrule a package of regulations through a joint resolution.
“Repealing this rule is just one of many efforts we will undertake to provide the regulatory relief that is necessary to unleash the American economy so that it can realize its full potential,” said Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, also weighed in, stating: “The harmful Obama administration ‘blacklisting’ regulation could have prevented contractors from receiving a federal contract for an alleged labor violation before any wrongdoing has been proven.”
The Trump White House also issued Statement of Administration Policy, that states that the rule “would bog down federal procurement with unnecessary and burdensome processes that would result in delays, and decreased competition for federal government contracts.”
