For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 17, 2001
Executive Order
Notification of Employee Rights Concerning Payment of Union Dues or Fees
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. 471 et seq., and in order to ensure the economical and efficient
administration and completion of Government contracts, it is hereby
ordered that:
Section 1. (a) This
order is designed to promote economy and efficiency in Government
procurement. When workers are better informed of their
rights, including their rights under the Federal labor laws, their
productivity is enhanced. The availability of such a
workforce from which the United States may draw facilitates the
efficient and economical completion of its procurement contracts.
(b) 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 deemed necessary and
appropriate to achieve the purposes of this order.
Sec. 2. (a) 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
Govern-ment 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 as the Secretary of Labor shall prescribe, in conspicuous
places in and about its plants and offices, including all places where
notices to employees are customarily posted. The notice
shall include the following information (except that the last sentence
shall not be included in notices posted in the plants or offices of
carriers subject to the Railway Labor Act, as amended (45 U.S.C.
151-188)):
NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
Under Federal law, employees cannot be
required to join a union or maintain membership in a union in order to
retain their jobs. Under certain conditions, the law permits
a union and an employer to enter into a union-security agreement
requiring employees to pay uniform periodic dues and initiation
fees. However, employees who are not union members can
object to the use of their payments for certain purposes and can only
be required to pay their share of union costs relating to collective
bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment.
"If you do not want to pay that portion of
dues or fees used to support activities not related to collective
bargaining, contract administration, or grievance adjustment, you are
entitled to an appropriate reduction in your payment. If you
believe that you have been required to pay dues or fees used in part to
support activities not related to collective bargaining, contract
administration, or grievance adjustment, you may be entitled to a
refund and to an appropriate reduction in future payments.
"For further information concerning your
rights, you may wish to contact the National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB) either at one of its Regional offices or at the following
address:
National
Labor Relations Board
Division of
Information
1099 14th
Street, N.W.
Washington,
D.C. 20570
"To locate the nearest NLRB office, see NLRB's
website at www.nlrb.gov."
"2. The contractor will comply with
all provisions of Executive Order _[number as provided by the Federal
Register]_ of February 17, 2001, 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 February 17,
2001. Such other sanctions or remedies may be imposed as are
provided in Executive Order [number as provided by the Federal
Register] of February 17, 2001, or by 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) herein in every subcontract or
purchase order 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 February 17, 2001, so that such provisions
will be binding upon each subcontractor or vendor. The contractor will
take such action with respect to any such subcontract or purchase order
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 vendor, 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."
(b) Whenever, through Acts of
Congress or through clarification of existing law by the courts or
otherwise, it appears that contractual provisions other than, or in
addition to, those set out in subsection (a) of this section are needed
to inform employees fully and accurately of their rights with respect
to union dues, union-security agreements, or the like, the Secretary
shall promptly 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. 3. (a) 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, subcontract, or purchase
order.
(b) The Secretary may, by rule,
regulation, or order, exempt from the provisions of section 2 of this
order certain classes of contracts to the extent that they involve (i)
work outside the United States and do not involve the recruitment or
employment of workers within the United States; (ii) work in
jurisdictions where State law forbids enforcement of union-security
agreements; (iii) work at sites where the notice to employees described
in section 2(a) of this order would be unnecessary because the
employees are not represented by a union; (iv) numbers of workers below
appropriate thresholds set by the Secretary; or (v) subcontracts below
an appropriate tier set by the Secretary.
(c) The Secretary may provide, by
rule, regulation, or order, for the exemption of facilities of a
contractor, subcontractor, or vendor that are in all respects separate
and distinct from activities related to the performance of the
contract: Provided, that such exemption will not interfere
with or impede the effectuation of the purposes of this order: And
provided further, that in the absence of such an exemption all
facilities shall be covered by the provisions of this order.
Sec. 4. (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,
subcontractor, or vendor where such complaints allege a failure to
perform or a violation of the contractual provisions required by
section 2 of this order.
Sec. 5. (a) The
Secretary, or any agency or officer in the executive branch of the
Government designated by rule, regulation, or order of the Secretary,
may hold such 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 debarment of any contractor from further Government contracts under
section 6(b) of this order nor the inclusion of a contractor on a
published list of noncomplying contractors under section 6(c) of this
order shall be carried out without affording the contractor an
opportunity for a hearing.
Sec. 6. 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 continues personally 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 continues personally 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. 7. Whenever the Secretary
invokes section 6(a) or 6(b) of this order, the contracting department
or agency shall report the results of the action it has taken to the
Secretary within such time as the Secretary shall specify.
Sec. 8. 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. 9. The Secretary may 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. 10. 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 of any related rules, regulations, or orders of the
Secretary that were issued to implement this Executive
Order. The FAR Council 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. 11. As it relates to
notification of employee rights concerning payment of union dues or
fees, Executive Order 12836 of February 1, 1993, which, among other
things, revoked Executive Order 12800 of April 13, 1992, is revoked.
Sec. 12. The heads of executive
departments and agencies shall revoke expeditiously any orders, rules,
regulations, guidelines, or policies implementing or enforcing
Executive
Order 12836 of February 1, 1993, as it relates to notification of
employee rights concerning payment of union dues or fees, to the extent
consistent with law.
Sec. 13. This order is intended
only to improve the internal management of the executive branch and is
not intended to, nor does it, create any right to administrative or
judicial review, or any right, whether substantive or procedural,
enforceable by any party against the United States, its agencies or
instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person.
Sec. 14. The provisions of this
order shall apply to contracts resulting from solicitations issued on
or after the effective date of this order.
Sec. 15. This order shall become
effective 60 days after the date of this order.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
February 17, 2001.
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