Should the federal government give major contracts to companies that violate the law? Donald Trump is saying yes to that—at least when the law in question is intended to protect workers. Trump has signed a bill repealing former President Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order:
Republicans voted to repeal the Obama administration’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order. That rule discouraged the General Services Administration from awarding federal contracts to companies with a history of stealing their employees’ wages, violating workplace safety standards, and/or illegally discriminating in hiring or pay. The order also required contractors to provide their employees with “the necessary information each pay period to make sure they are getting paid what they are owed.”
Now, companies will once again be free to underpay their workers, or evade safety regulations without fear of losing access to Uncle Sam’s deep pockets.
Republicans struck down the rule by deploying the Congressional Review Act (CRA) — a law that gives Congress the power to fast-track the reversal of regulations. Before Trump took office, the CRA had only been used to strike down one federal regulation in its 21-year history. Congress has, historically, been reluctant to use the CRA because regulations overturned through the law can never be reinstated by the executive branch, barring the approval of Congress.
How many ways can Republicans find to let companies know that it’s open season on American workers? Plenty, apparently, and this is a particularly powerful statement: “You can break the law by endangering your workers or stealing their wages and the federal government will still do business with you.”