New rules and regulations proposed by the Department of Labor and other federal procurement agencies yesterday will seriously benefit and protect workers. This is a landmark day for civil and workers’ rights.
According to Paul Bland, the executive director of Public Justice, the proposed new rules would do two significant things:
- First, they would bar corporations from getting federal contracts if they have repeatedly subjected workers to safety risks, or if they have repeatedly engaged in wage theft.
- Second, and of incredible importance (even if less obvious to most Americans), regulations from the General Services Administration would bar federal contractors from using fine print contracts to force their workers out of court and into rigged arbitration.
In today’s workforce, many workers suffer from a range of workers’ rights issues including safety on the job and wage theft, while large corporations benefit from federal contracts and forced arbitration. Under the new rules, these corporations will be forced to follow regulations to improve efficiency for government contractor workplaces.
As a law firm that stands with workers and their rights, we could not be happier with these new rules. The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposed regulations. If you or someone you love is a worker, you should not hesitate to voice your opinion as to why these rules matter.
Read more about the proposed rules and regulations at the Huffington Post Blog.