New Posting Requirements for Government Contractors

On May 20, 2010 the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final regulation implementing Executive Order 13496. EO 13496 requires non-exempt federal contractors and subcontractors to post a notice informing their employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The Final regulation can be accessed at: http://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/EO13496.htm. Effective June 21, 2010, all contractors with a contract in excess of $100,000 must post this new notice in a conspicuous area. Employers with subcontracts of $10,000 or less are exempt from this requirement. Employers who generally post electronic notices will be required to use specific language on their website what will contain a link to the full text of the notice. The DOL will print the required notice poster and provide it to federal contractors through the federal contracting agency. Alternatively, contractors will be able to obtain it from the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS): http://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/EmployeeRightsPoster11x17_Final.pdf.

If a "significant portion of the contractor's workforce" is not proficient in English, the employer must post the notice in the language of such employees. Finally, if an employer generally posts electronic notices as explained above and a significant portion of its workforce does not speak English, the employer must provide a web site link to a copy of the notice int he language the employees speak.

The regulation also sets forth certain requirements that must be included in all non-exempt government contracts and subcontracts (the "employee notice clause"). The final regulation does not require that the employee notice clause be quoted verbatim; instead it can be included in the contract by citation to 29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A. OFCCP audits may include an audit of compliance with those posting requirements.