President Obama recently made two strategic moves designed to help close the pay gap between male and female federal contractors. First, he signed an executive order banning federal contractors from retaliating against employees who discuss their compensation. This ban is similiar to the protection offered to employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Second, he issued a Presidential Memorandum requiring federal contractors to submit summary data to the Department of Labor (DOL) on compensation paid to their employees, including data by sex and race. The DOL will then use the collected data to encourage voluntary compliance with equal pay laws. Federal contractors should review their pay rates for evidence of gender inequality as Obama has made it clear that this is one of his hot button issues.
