Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Richard Arnholt authored an article discussing three of the most costly of President Obama’s 2016 Executive Orders impacting government contractors, orders that are likely to be overturned by President-elect Trump. In the article, Richard argues that, while the Executive Orders – Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces, Minimum Wage, and Sick Leave – may have been intended to improve the federal acquisition process, they place expensive and burdensome compliance obligations on contractors, particularly those providing commercial goods and services, and may therefore be amended or overturned. In total, the Obama Administration estimated the regulations implementing just these three Executive Orders would cost $12 billion over the next decade, costs that will ultimately be borne by taxpayers, and there is reason to believe that estimate is low.
The full article, “The (Hopefully) Short, Costly Life of President Obama’s Executive Orders,” was published by BNA’s Federal Contracts Report on January 19, 2017, and is available online (subscription required) or in the PDF below.