Job Creators Network Applauds President Trump for Killing Blacklisting Rule

Atlanta—Today, the Job Creators Network expresses support for President Trump’s signing of H.J.Res.37—a bill that eliminates the previous administration’s “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” executive order. The order required private companies bidding on federal contracts of more than $500,000 to self-report any allegations of labor policy misconduct—which critics have attacked for the lack of due process, extremely high compliance costs, and the disproportional effect it would have on minority contractors and subcontractors.

Alfredo Ortiz, President and CEO of the Job Creators Network, previously wrote an op-ed opposing the rule that appeared in the Washington Examiner. Read the op-ed here. Ortiz is also on the advisory board of the Workplace Policy Institute who sued to enjoin the rule’s implementation, which helped drive the move to eliminate it once and for all.

Alfredo Ortiz issued the following statement on Trump’s decision:

President Trump’s decision to sign into law legislation that eliminates President Obama’s “Fair Play and Safe Workplaces” rule is a win for small enterprises whose business model depends on government contracts. The rule effectively blacklisted any contractor or subcontractor who had any labor policy complaints lobbed their way. This subjected innocent small businesses to a shower of frivolous lawsuits taking advantage of their drive to keep labor misconduct allegations off their records—which commonly led to unfair settlements. Furthermore, this rule favored big labor—which has the legal and financial resources to mitigate the negative effects of such a policy—while leaving small minority-owned businesses left out to dry. All-in-all, this rule lacked due process—allowing small businesses to be punished because of unsubstantiated claims–without directly targeting the major offenders who can already easily be identified and reprimanded by existing labor laws.