1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |U.S. Chamber Submits Comments on the FAR Council’s Proposed Rule Regarding Pay Transparency

U.S. Chamber Submits Comments on the FAR Council’s Proposed Rule Regarding Pay Transparency

Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.11.24

On January 30, 2024, the FAR Council issued a proposed rule entitled “Pay Equity and Transparency in Federal Contracting” (“Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule would: (1) prohibit contractors and subcontractors from seeking and considering information about job applicants’ compensation history when making employment decisions about personnel working on or in connection with a government contract; and (2) require contractors and subcontractors to disclose, in all advertisements for job openings involving work on or in connection with a government contract placed by or on behalf of the contractor or subcontractor, the compensation to be offered to the hired applicant for any position to perform work on or in connection with the contract.

Interested parties submitted written comments before April 1, 2024 for consideration in the formation of the final rule. Crowell served as outside counsel to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (“the Chamber”) in connection with comments filed by the Chamber. A copy of the filed comments can be found here. As the Chamber noted in its comments, the Proposed Rule would impose obligations that conflict with other obligations imposed upon government contractors and subcontractors and raises a host of other significant, practical issues for such contractors.

We would like to thank Cherie J. Owen, Consultant, for her contribution to this alert.

Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 05.20.25

DOJ’s Civil Rights Fraud Initiative Bolsters Threat of False Claims Act Enforcement Under “Anti-DEI” Executive Order

On May 19, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a Memorandum creating the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative that will “utilize the False Claims Act to investigate and . . . pursue claims against any recipient of federal funds that knowingly violates federal civil rights laws.” According to the Memorandum, though racial discrimination has “always been illegal,” the Administration posits that “many corporations and schools continue to adhere to racist policies and preferences—albeit camouflaged with cosmetic changes that disguise their discriminatory nature.” In an effort to prevent federal funds from being used in connection with or support of these purportedly racist policies and preferences, the Initiative will wield the power of the False Claims Act, the government’s most powerful tool to fight fraud, waste, and abuse....