President Obama July 21 issued Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees and prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in federal employment. The executive order affects federal and federally assisted construction contractors and subcontractors who do more than $10,000 in government business in one year.

The Secretary of Labor has 90 days to issue a proposed rule which will implement the executive order. Once the rule is made final, it will be administered and enforced by The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). More information on the executive order is available in this fact sheet. Updates on the proposal will be provided in Newsline.

This executive order is just another in a string of actions that impact federal contractors. On June 17, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division issued a proposal to implement Executive Order 13658, which establishes a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour for covered federal contractors.

In April, Obama issued two other executive actions, which included prohibiting them from retaliating against employees who discuss their compensation with fellow employees and requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to submit compensation data to the DOL. With each of these actions, federal contractors are facing increasingly costly regulations and requirements that can affect their bottom line.