Washington D.C. Employment Law Update : Washington D.C. Employment Lawyer & Attorney : Littler Mendelson Law Firm : Virginia, Tyson's Corner

The Department of Defense (DoD) has adopted without change an interim rule that provides whistleblower protections for DoD contractor employees. The interim rule, issued on January 15, 2009, implemented portions of the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009 that added these whistleblower rights and protections. Specifically, the added protections prevent government contractors from discharging, demoting, or otherwise discriminating against employees as a reprisal for disclosing to government officials information regarding waste or mismanagement, danger to public health or safety, or a violation of law related to a DoD contract.

The interim rule expanded the types of information covered by existing whistleblower protections, in addition to the categories of government officials to whom the information could be reported without reprisal. The rule also established time periods in which the Inspector General and agency head must act on the employee’s complaint of a whistleblower violation, and allows the employee to bring a claim in federal court once he or she has exhausted all administrative remedies. Pursuant to the new rule, all solicitations and contracts must include a clause informing employees of their whistleblower rights.

These requirements became final as of November 19, 2009.

Photo credit:  Lkmorlan

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The Senate approved by a vote of 68 – 30 an amendment (S.A. 2588) to the defense appropriations bill (H.R. 3326) that would prohibit federal contractors or subcontractors receiving defense department funds from forcing their employees or independent contractors to sign, as a condition of employment, agreements to arbitrate certain employment-related claims. Specifically, the amendment bans contractors or subcontractors at any tier that receive funds from the appropriations bill from enforcing mandatory, pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate “any claim under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or any tort related to or arising out of sexual assault or harassment, including assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, or negligent hiring, supervision, or retention.” The provisions of this amendment would not apply to employment contracts that are not enforceable in this country.

The appropriations bill including the above amendment was approved by a vote of 93-7. This version of the bill will now need to be reconciled with that approved by the House in July.

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With the rejection of an 11th–hour appeal, a Maryland district court judge has permitted the new E-verify requirements for federal contractors to become effective September 8, 2009. Federal agencies are now permitted to require federal contractors to use E-Verify to confirm the work eligibility status of their employees. 

For more information, see Littler's ASAP:  Federal Contractors: Be Aware of New E-Verify Requirements in Contracts by Jorge R. Lopez, Joshua Roffman, Aimee Clark Todd and Russell C. Ford. 

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