PAY SECRECY: LEGAL AND POLICY ISSUES.

On April 8, 2014, President Obama issued an Executive Order amending Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965 prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against employees for disclosure of compensation information (Obama, 2014). Executive Order 11246 covers employees who work for service and supply contractors and construction companies covered by Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regulations that apply to federal government contracts. The Executive Order was heralded by organizations like the National Women's Law Center as "an end to pay secrecy gag rules for employees of federal contractors" (Watson, 2014). It was characterized by others as "unnecessary" given long standing protection afforded to employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) (Smith, 2014). Pay secrecy has often been characterized as a "contentious" issue in many organizations and President Obama's recent executive order has rekindled the debate as to the utility of pay secrecy policies and rules in organizations. This paper examines recent legal, policy, and practice issues for employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act regarding the use of pay secrecy policies and, recommendations to reduce employer exposure to litigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]