Several labor amendments that would have negative ramifications for companies who rely significantly on federal contracts were proposed to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (H.R. 7900), with several of them adopted in the House-passed bill.
The following federal contractor labor amendments were included in the House-passed version of the NDAA:
- Amendment No. 809, offered by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, (D-IL) to eliminate non-union contractors from contending for DOD contracts, instituting a new preference for employers that have entered into agreements with a labor organization; remain neutral in union-organizing activities; and do not replace any workers involved in a strike, picketing operation, or other refusal to work;
- Amendment No. 403, offered by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) to direct the head of all federal agencies to initiate a debarment proceeding with respect to a covered firm pursuing a contract of $500,000 or more with two or more willful or repeated violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act within the last five years under certain circumstances, including for matters that have not been fully adjudicated;
- Amendment No. 443, offered by Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) to prohibit contracts for businesses found to have violated the National Labor Relations Act in the last three years;
- Amendment No. 13, offered by Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) would impose a new requirement and preference for construction industry contractors and subcontractors that hire more than half their workforce from local areas;
In addition, an amendment offered by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., directing the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to establish procedures for how it will investigate whether federal contractors are illegally inquiring about job applicants’ criminal histories was included in the bill.
