In February, the House of Representatives voted 236-187 on a resolution to block the ‘blacklisting' rule, sending it to the Senate for a second vote. The act would have given the federal government the ability to disqualify contractors if they violated any of the 14 labor laws, which can be found here, over the past 3 years on any project totaling $500,000 or more.
On Monday, the Senate officially voted against the ‘blacklisting’ rule, giving it its second of 3 strikes. The final step in completely killing the rule is obtaining a signature from President Trump.
The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has been leading the charge within the construction industry in blocking the rule from implementation. In a press release, ABC Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck said:
“By using the Congressional Review Act to nullify this rule, Congress has taken an important step in removing burdensome and duplicative reporting requirements and eliminating a costly barrier to entry that would have discouraged many small contractors from bidding on government contracts. ABC looks forward to working with the Trump administration and Congress to improve the federal government’s existing suspension and debarment system, which already requires contractors to report violations, as well as to ensure contracts are bid through a process that encourages competition from all qualified contractors while protecting the American workforce and taxpayers’ investment.”
As usual, there’s a clear divide among party lines, as Republicans are generally against the ‘blacklisting’ rule and Democrats are generally in favor of the rule. Proponents believe the rule protects the workforce, while those against believe it could lead to the blackmailing of companies wishing to perform work for the government, according to the Hill.
One of the toughest things to deal with on any project can be the relationships between owner and general contractor or the general contractor and subcontractor. In the worst case scenarios, tensions between those relationships can sometimes lead to one of those parties packing up their tools and walking off the job before it’s complete. But that action may make the situation a little hairier than you might expect, if you don’t do it the right way.