President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13496 on January 30,
2009. The Order states that it is the policy of the Federal government
to “encourage[e] the practice and procedure of collective bargaining
and . . . protect[] the exercise by workers of full freedom of
association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of
their own choosing ….”
To help accomplish these objectives, the Order requires employers
with Federal government contracts valued in excess of $100,000 post a
Notice at worksites where activities “related to” the contract are
performed. The Notice will set forth details of the right of employees
to unionize and likely will state the aforementioned “policy” of the
Federal government. Subcontractors who perform work “necessary to” the
primary contract also will be covered. As proposed, there will be no
minimum contract value for a “necessary to” subcontractor to be covered.
Covered employers who do not post a Notice may lose individual
contracts or be debarred from all Federal contracts. An employer also
may be debarred if it violates the terms of the Notice or otherwise
interferes with the right of employees to unionize.
Final regulations will be issued soon. At that time, covered
employers will be required to post the Notice as soon as they sign a
covered contract or modify an existing contract.
Employers are well advised to begin preparing for the implementation of the Order.
On February 11, 2010, Jackson Lewis will present a complimentary
webinar on the Executive Order, its current status, and what your
organization should do to prepare.
Are you prepared? Join Jackson Lewis for a webinar
hosted by Projections, Inc., on February 11, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. EST.
We will discuss the Executive Order, its current status, and what your
organization should do to prepare. This is a free webinar you can’t afford to miss.
To register for this special webinar, please click on this link:
Webinar Registration