Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

On September 10, 2015, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) issued a Final Rule implementing last year’s Executive Order 13665, which prohibits federal contractors from discharging, or discriminating against, any employee or applicant who “has inquired about, discussed, or disclosed” either their own compensation information or that of another employee or applicant.

Federal contractors and subcontractors may soon be prohibited by the OFCCP from having polices that prohibit employees from talking about their pay and from discriminating against those who do.  On September 17, the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a notice of proposed rule-making (NPRM) concerning pay secrecy policies. The proposed rule, which applies to  federal contractors and subcontractors, prohibits pay secrecy policies and bars companies from discriminating against job applicants and all levels of employees who ask about, disclose, or discuss compensation-related information.  This will not be a surprise to those who follow the rulings under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which provides similar protections.