[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 4, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6107-6111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2485]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 22 / Wednesday, February 4, 2009 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 6107]]


                Executive Order 13496 of January 30, 2009

                
Notification of Employee Rights Under Federal 
                Labor Laws

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, including the Federal Property and 
                Administrative Services Act, 40 U.S.C. 101 et seq., and 
                in order to ensure the economical and efficient 
                administration and completion of Government contracts, 
                it is hereby ordered that:

                Section 1. Policy. This order is designed to promote 
                economy and efficiency in Government procurement. When 
                the Federal Government contracts for goods or services, 
                it has a proprietary interest in ensuring that those 
                contracts will be performed by contractors whose work 
                will not be interrupted by labor unrest. The attainment 
                of industrial peace is most easily achieved and 
                workers' productivity is enhanced when workers are well 
                informed of their rights under Federal labor laws, 
                including the National Labor Relations Act (Act), 29 
                U.S.C. 151 et seq. As the Act recognizes, ``encouraging 
                the practice and procedure of collective bargaining and 
                . . . protecting the exercise by workers of full 
                freedom of association, self-organization, and 
                designation of representatives of their own choosing, 
                for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions 
                of their employment or other mutual aid or protection'' 
                will ``eliminate the causes of certain substantial 
                obstructions to the free flow of commerce'' and 
                ``mitigate and eliminate these obstructions when they 
                have occurred.'' 29 U.S.C. 151. Relying on contractors 
                whose employees are informed of such rights under 
                Federal labor laws facilitates the efficient and 
                economical completion of the Federal Government's 
                contracts.

                Sec. 2. Contract Clause. Except in contracts exempted 
                in accordance with section 3 of this order, all 
                Government contracting departments and agencies shall, 
                to the extent consistent with law, include the 
                following provisions in every Government contract, 
                other than collective bargaining agreements as defined 
                in 5 U.S.C. 7103(a)(8) and purchases under the 
                simplified acquisition threshold as defined in the 
                Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act, 41 U.S.C. 
                403.

                ``1. During the term of this contract, the contractor 
                agrees to post a notice, of such size and in such form, 
                and containing such content as the Secretary of Labor 
                shall prescribe, in conspicuous places in and about its 
                plants and offices where employees covered by the 
                National Labor Relations Act engage in activities 
                relating to the performance of the contract, including 
                all places where notices to employees are customarily 
                posted both physically and electronically. The notice 
                shall include the information contained in the notice 
                published by the Secretary of Labor in the Federal 
                Register (Secretary's Notice).

                    ``2. The contractor will comply with all provisions 
                of the Secretary's Notice, and related rules, 
                regulations, and orders of the Secretary of Labor.
                    ``3. In the event that the contractor does not 
                comply with any of the requirements set forth in 
                paragraphs (1) or (2) above, this contract may be 
                cancelled, terminated, or suspended in whole or in 
                part, and the contractor may be declared ineligible for 
                further Government contracts in accordance with 
                procedures authorized in or adopted pursuant to 
                Executive Order [number as provided by the Federal 
                Register] of [insert new date]. Such other sanctions or 
                remedies may be imposed as are provided in Executive 
                Order [number as provided by the Federal Register] of 
                [insert new date], or by

[[Page 6108]]

                rule, regulation, or order of the Secretary of Labor, 
                or as are otherwise provided by law.
                    ``4. The contractor will include the provisions of 
                paragraphs (1) through (3) above in every subcontract 
                entered into in connection with this contract (unless 
                exempted by rules, regulations, or orders of the 
                Secretary of Labor issued pursuant to section 3 of 
                Executive Order [number as provided by the Federal 
                Register] of [insert new date]) so that such provisions 
                will be binding upon each subcontractor. The contractor 
                will take such action with respect to any such 
                subcontract as may be directed by the Secretary of 
                Labor as a means of enforcing such provisions, 
                including the imposition of sanctions for non-
                compliance: Provided, however, that if the contractor 
                becomes involved in litigation with a subcontractor, or 
                is threatened with such involvement, as a result of 
                such direction, the contractor may request the United 
                States to enter into such litigation to protect the 
                interests of the United States.''

                Sec. 3. Administration.

                    (a) The Secretary of Labor (Secretary) shall be 
                responsible for the administration and enforcement of 
                this order. The Secretary shall adopt such rules and 
                regulations and issue such orders as are necessary and 
                appropriate to achieve the purposes of this order.
                    (b) Within 120 days of the effective date of this 
                order, the Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking to 
                prescribe the size, form, and content of the notice to 
                be posted by a contractor under paragraph 1 of the 
                contract clause described in section 2 of this order. 
                Such notice shall describe the rights of employees 
                under Federal labor laws, consistent with the policy 
                set forth in section 1 of this order.
                    (c) Whenever the Secretary finds that an act of 
                Congress, clarification of existing law by the courts 
                or the National Labor Relations Board, or other 
                circumstances make modification of the contractual 
                provisions set out in subsection (a) of this section 
                necessary to achieve the purposes of this order, the 
                Secretary promptly shall issue such rules, regulations, 
                or orders as are needed to cause the substitution or 
                addition of appropriate contractual provisions in 
                Government contracts thereafter entered into.

                Sec. 4. Exemptions. (a) If the Secretary finds that the 
                application of any of the requirements of this order 
                would not serve the purposes of this order or would 
                impair the ability of the Government to procure goods 
                or services on an economical and efficient basis, the 
                Secretary may exempt a contracting department or agency 
                or group of departments or agencies from the 
                requirements of any or all of the provisions of this 
                order with respect to a particular contract or 
                subcontract or any class of contracts or subcontracts.

                    (b) The Secretary may, if the Secretary finds that 
                special circumstances require an exemption in order to 
                serve the national interest, exempt a contracting 
                department or agency from the requirements of any or 
                all of the provisions of section 2 of this order with 
                respect to a particular contract or subcontract or 
                class of contracts or subcontracts.

                Sec. 5. Investigation.

                    (a) The Secretary may investigate any Government 
                contractor, subcontractor, or vendor to determine 
                whether the contractual provisions required by section 
                2 of this order have been violated.
                    Such investigations shall be conducted in 
                accordance with procedures established by the 
                Secretary.
                    (b) The Secretary shall receive and investigate 
                complaints by employees of a Government contractor or 
                subcontractor, where such complaints allege a failure 
                to perform or a violation of the contractual provisions 
                required by section 2 of this order.

                Sec. 6. Compliance.

                    (a) The Secretary, or any agency or officer in the 
                executive branch lawfully designated by rule, 
                regulation, or order of the Secretary, may hold such

[[Page 6109]]

                hearings, public or private, regarding compliance with 
                this order as the Secretary may deem advisable.
                    (b) The Secretary may hold hearings, or cause 
                hearings to be held, in accordance with subsection (a) 
                of this section, prior to imposing, ordering, or 
                recommending the imposition of sanctions under this 
                order. Neither an order for cancellation, termination, 
                or suspension of any contract or debarment of any 
                contractor from further Government contracts under 
                section 7(b) of this order nor the inclusion of a 
                contractor on a published list of noncomplying 
                contractors under section 7(c) of this order shall be 
                carried out without affording the contractor an 
                opportunity for a hearing.

                Sec. 7. Remedies. In accordance with such rules, 
                regulations, or orders as the Secretary may issue or 
                adopt, the Secretary may:

                    (a) after consulting with the contracting 
                department or agency, direct that department or agency 
                to cancel, terminate, suspend, or cause to be 
                cancelled, terminated, or suspended, any contract, or 
                any portion or portions thereof, for failure of the 
                contractor to comply with the contractual provisions 
                required by section 2 of this order; contracts may be 
                cancelled, terminated, or suspended absolutely, or 
                continuance of contracts may be conditioned upon future 
                compliance: Provided, that before issuing a directive 
                under this subsection, the Secretary shall provide the 
                head of the contracting department or agency an 
                opportunity to offer written objections to the issuance 
                of such a directive, which objections shall include a 
                complete statement of reasons for the objections, among 
                which reasons shall be a finding that completion of the 
                contract is essential to the agency's mission: And 
                provided further, that no directive shall be issued by 
                the Secretary under this subsection so long as the head 
                of the contracting department or agency, or his or her 
                designee, continues to object to the issuance of such 
                directive;
                    (b) after consulting with each affected contracting 
                department or agency, provide that one or more 
                contracting departments or agencies shall refrain from 
                entering into further contracts, or extensions or other 
                modifications of existing contracts, with any 
                noncomplying contractor, until such contractor has 
                satisfied the Secretary that such contractor has 
                complied with and will carry out the provisions of this 
                order: Provided, that before issuing a directive under 
                this subsection, the Secretary shall provide the head 
                of each contracting department or agency an opportunity 
                to offer written objections to the issuance of such a 
                directive, which objections shall include a complete 
                statement of reasons for the objections, among which 
                reasons shall be a finding that further contracts or 
                extensions or other modifications of existing contracts 
                with the noncomplying contractor are essential to the 
                agency's mission: And provided further, that no 
                directive shall be issued by the Secretary under this 
                subsection so long as the head of a contracting 
                department or agency, or his or her designee, continues 
                to object to the issuance of such directive; and
                    (c) publish, or cause to be published, the names of 
                contractors that have, in the judgment of the 
                Secretary, failed to comply with the provisions of this 
                order or of related rules, regulations, and orders of 
                the Secretary.

                Sec. 8. Reports. Whenever the Secretary invokes section 
                7(a) or 7(b) of this order, the contracting department 
                or agency shall report to the Secretary the results of 
                the action it has taken within such time as the 
                Secretary shall specify.

                Sec. 9. Cooperation. Each contracting department and 
                agency shall cooperate with the Secretary and provide 
                such information and assistance as the Secretary may 
                require in the performance of the Secretary's functions 
                under this order.

                Sec. 10. Sufficiency of Remedies. If the Secretary 
                finds that the authority vested in the Secretary by 
                sections 5 through 9 of this order is not sufficient to 
                effectuate the purposes of this order, the Secretary 
                shall develop recommendations on how better to 
                effectuate those purposes.

[[Page 6110]]

                Sec. 11. Delegation. The Secretary may, in accordance 
                with law, delegate any function or duty of the 
                Secretary under this order to any officer in the 
                Department of Labor or to any other officer in the 
                executive branch of the Government, with the consent of 
                the head of the department or agency in which that 
                officer serves.

                Sec. 12. Implementation. To the extent permitted by 
                law, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR 
                Council) shall take whatever action is required to 
                implement in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 
                the provisions of this order and any related rules, 
                regulations, or orders issued by the Secretary under 
                this order and shall amend the FAR to require each 
                solicitation of offers for a contract to include a 
                provision that implements section 2 of this order.

                Sec. 13. Revocation of Prior Order and Actions. 
                Executive Order 13201 of February 17, 2001, is revoked. 
                The heads of executive departments and agencies shall, 
                to the extent permitted by law, revoke expeditiously 
                any orders, rules, regulations, guidelines, or policies 
                implementing or enforcing Executive Order 13201.

                Sec. 14. Severability. If any provision of this order, 
                or the application of such provision to any person or 
                circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of 
                this order and the application of the provisions of 
                such to any person or circumstances shall not be 
                affected thereby.

                Sec. 15. General Provisions.

                    (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to 
                impair or otherwise affect:

  (i) authority granted by law to a department, agency, or the head 
thereof; or

  (ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.

[[Page 6111]]

                Sec. 16. Effective Date. This order shall become 
                effective immediately, and shall apply to contracts 
                resulting from solicitations issued on or after the 
                effective date of the rule promulgated by the Secretary 
                pursuant to section 3(b) of this order.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 30, 2009.

[FR Doc. E9-2485
Filed 2-3-09; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-W9-P