Under the now-rescinded Executive Order (E.O.) 13673 (“blacklisting rule”), covered federal contractors would have been required to disclose various state and federal labor law “violations,” including those arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or Executive Order 11246. Contractors and subcontractors with sufficiently “unsatisfactory” records of integrity and business ethics would have faced possible debarment from federal contract/subcontract work.
Prompted by several highly publicized incidents of racism within its LGBTQ communities, the city of Philadelphia has now implemented its own “blacklisting” rule of sorts, which authorizes the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR) to shutter “for a specified period of time” any business found to have engaged in “severe or repeated violations” of the city’s employment, public accommodations, or housing nondiscrimination laws. Unlike E.O. 13673, Philadelphia Bill 170334 applies broadly to all city-based employers with one or more employees.
The new measure, which amends Philadelphia’s Fair Practices Ordinance, was signed into law by Mayor Jim Kenney on May 17, 2017, and became effective immediately. It was announced officially at a ceremonial signing event on June 22, 2017.
The measure does not specify what will be considered a “severe” or “repeated” violation, or the maximum period of time a business may be ordered closed. Although the PCHR is expected to issue implementing regulations presumably to clarify those issues, no timeframe for their publication has been announced.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.