Furthermore, Labor may debar contractors in the construction industry under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act for “repeated willful or grossly negligent” violations of safety and health standards issued under the OSH Act. Most firms—regardless of whether they are federal contractors—must comply with safety and health standards issued under the OSH Act of 1970, which was enacted “to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women.” The Secretary of Labor established OSHA to carry out a number of responsibilities, including developing and enforcing safety and health standards; educating workers and employers about work place hazards; and establishing responsibilities and rights for both employers and employees for the achievement of better safety and health conditions. FPDS does not contain information on contractors’ safety and health or labor relations’ practices. Labor-Management Relations Law Violators Received Over $23 Billion in Federal Contracts in Fiscal Year 1993

A total of 80 firms that violated the NLRA received over $23 billion from more than 4,400 federal contracts during fiscal year 1993—about 13 percent of total fiscal year 1993 contract dollars. Most of the violators were large firms. In 24 cases, firms were ordered to stop threatening employees with the loss of their jobs or the shutdown of the firm. Contractors With OSHA Violations Received $38 Billion in Fiscal Year 1994

We found 261 federal contractors that were the corporate parents of facilities that had received proposed penalties of $15,000 or more from OSHA for violations of safety and health regulations in fiscal year 1994. About 75 percent of the total dollar value of these contracts was awarded by the Department of Defense, with large amounts of contract dollars also awarded by the Department of Energy and NASA. A majority of the 345 work sites (56 percent) penalized for safety and health violations were engaged in manufacturing. NLRB Implemented GAO Recommendations, but OSHA Has Not Yet Taken Action

Management Services Department, which is developing its comprehensive database on federal contractors. In our report on federal contractors who violated OSHA regulations, we concluded that contracting agencies could use information on a contractor’s safety and health record during the procedure for the awarding of federal contracts as a vehicle to encourage a contractor to undertake remedial measures to improve work place conditions.However, agency contracting authorities have not done so, at least partially because they did not have the information to determine those federal contractors who are violating safety and health regulations, even when they have been fined significant penalties for willful or repeated violations. Worker Protection: Federal Contractors and Violations of Labor Law (GAO/HEHS-96-8, Oct. 24, 1995). National Labor Relations Board: Action Needed to Improve Case-Processing Time at Headquarters (GAO/HRD-91-29, Jan. 7, 1991).
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO discussed federal contractors' noncompliance with federal labor laws, focusing on: (1) federal contractors' noncompliance with the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) during fiscal years (FY) 1993 and 1994 and with the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act during FY 1994; and (2) the status of recommendations GAO made to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in those reports involving the use of information on federal contractors to enhance workplace health and safety and workers' rights to bargain collectively.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) federal contracts worth many billions of dollars had been awarded to employers who had been found in violation of NLRA or the safety and health regulations issued under the OSH Act; (2) the 80 firms that had violated the NLRA during FY 1993 and FY 1994 had received $23 billion, or about 13 percent of the total dollar value of federal contracts awarded during FY 1993; (3) there were 261 federal contractors that had work sites at which OSHA had assessed proposed penalties of $15,000 or more for noncompliance with health and safety regulations; (4) these firms received $38 billion in federal contracts awarded during FY 1994; (5) both of these totals probably underestimate the number of violators and contract dollars received during both years; (6) in both cases, most of the contract dollars were awarded to violators that were large firms, and a majority of these firms were in manufacturing industries; (7) about 75 percent of the dollar value of these awards came from the Department of Defense, although many dollars also came from the Department of Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; (8) although agencies can consider employers' labor-management relations and health and safety records in the awarding of contracts under current procurement regulations, agency officials responsible for awarding contracts and debarring contractors from receiving future contracts have generally not taken actions against contractors with safety and health or labor-relations law violations; (9) this is at least partially because they do not have adequate information to determine those federal contractors in noncompliance with these laws, even when the contractors have been assessed severe penalties or remedies under the respective acts; (10) in its reports, GAO made recommendations to both NLRB and OSHA that could enhance the effectiveness of their enforcement through the use of information on federal contractors; and (11) although NLRB has taken action in implementing GAO's recommendations, OSHA has not yet done so.