Government Contractors, Prohibitions Against Pay Secrecy Policies and Actions

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) publishes this final rule to implement Executive Order 13665 (also referred to as "the Order," infra) issued on April 8, 2014 to prohibit Federal contractors from discriminating against, in any manner, employees and job applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their own compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants. Executive Order 13665 amends Executive Order 11246, which prohibits employment discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, by revising the mandatory equal opportunity clauses that are included in Federal contracts and subcontracts, and federally assisted construction contracts, and creating contractor defenses. This final rule defines key terms used in Executive Order 13665 and adopts other key provisions in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). The final rule also adds a section to the implementing regulations for Executive Order 11246. This section not only describes potential defenses for contractors but also requires contractors to notify employees and job applicants of the nondiscrimination protection created by section 2(b) of Executive Order 13665 using existing methods of communicating to applicants and employees. The implementing regulations for Executive Order 11246 set forth the basic equal employment opportunity requirements that apply to Federal contractors and subcontractors.