Officials Expand Safety Provisions In Procurement Guide, Defend Authority

The Obama administration's controversial new rules and related guidance to assist federal agencies in weighing health and safety and other labor law violations in procurement decisions backs labor advocates' calls to expand the list violations that agencies must consider in their decisions even as officials defended against industry claims that the measure is unnecessary and exceeds federal authority. The administration Aug. 24 issued a General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Acquisition Rule (FAR) and related Labor Department (DOL) guidance that seek...