Posted on 01/28/2014 2:47:07 PM PST by Kaslin
President Obama will announce tonight that he is signing an Executive Order mandating a new $10.10 minimum wage for all future federal contract workers. But it is not at all clear that he has the legal authority to do so.
"My understanding is that they are using the president's authority under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949," George Washington Law School's Associate Dean for Government Procurement Law Studies Dan Gordon told Townhall. "And that calls for measures which ensure 'economy and efficiency' of the procurement process. And I am not sure whether this blanket increase in the wages paid by contractors can be fit within that legal framework."
"Now it is certainly true that if you had a particular contract," Gordon explained, "let's suppose you were running a call center for the IRS in Topeka, Kansas, and you had a history of contractors at that call center who were paying their people the legal minimum and the result was significant staff turnover which was causing disruption, then you clearly could say, 'You know what, in the next procurement we're going to require that the contractor pay higher wages because higher wages are necessary to avoid disruption cause by turnover.' But as a blanket matter I think that there is a legal cloud over whether raising the amount that contractors pay serves 'economy and efficiency.'"
Without establishing a factual record that an increased minimum wage is necessary to ensure the "economy and efficiency" of government procurement, Obama's unilateral move to do so stands on shaky legal ground.
But it is not at all certain that anybody would sue to stop the hike. A federal contractor who could prove they had been put at a competitive disadvantage, as compared to other potential contractors, by Obama's unilateral wage hike, could show they were economically harmed enough to establish standing and sue in federal court. But considering how few workers will get raises, just 250,000 according to the Economic Policy Institute, it's possible no one would challenge Obama.
Whether or not Obama's unilateral minimum wage hike is ever challenged in court, it is just the latest example of Obama's long-track record of ignoring Congress and the Constitution and instead governing without legal authority.
I thought Executive Orders were only enforceable for the Executive Brance, which is pretty powerful with DOJ, FBI, Treasury, IRS, etc.
I find it very doubtful that any federal contractor is paying less than ten bucks an hour anyway. Most government contractors are paid at the prevailing union wage in the area in which they are working.
Who is going to hold him accountable for violating the Constitution? A pea-brained supreme court? A weak-kneed Republican party? The brain-dead public?
Let it get to the Supreme Court. Yeah, that’s it. Justice Roberts can be counted on to rule according to the Constitution for sure!
He breaks the law almost every day and no one will do anything to stop him. Our lawmakers have caved.
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NAhh... there are no legal challenges when you are the Emperor...
Don’t worry, John Boehner is The Enforcer.
As a former DoD procurement and contracts type, uh, NO he can’t!
What happened to Performance Contracts, that stipulates certain standards that are guaranteed under penalty.. Who the Hell dictates the Salary agreement with a private contractor and their employees, unless there is a documented evidence for concern, and if that is an element, why choose them in the first place?
We all know the reason for this move, to pacify the extreme left wing of his party, and to set the table for the Union Thugs to work from..
Sue him. Sue him and his administration.
My suspicion is that no matter who wins the 2016 election, this Clown will, as the inaugural of 2017 comes close, will pardon and release dozens, if not hundreds, of criminals.
You think Jackie Kennedy would ever send out a party invite with "Eat before you come"?
That won't stop the DICTATOR!!!
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