Ask the Expert: Ann O’Leary on Family-Friendly Federal Contracting

What role do contractors play in the federal workforce?

The federal government has employed more and more federal contractors over the years, and each year, the government spends approximately $519 billion on federal contracting, so this means the workforce in the United States employed by federal contractors is growing, and growing. In fact, about a quarter of the workforce employed in the United States is impacted by federal contracting, which means their employer receives federal contracting dollars.

The federal contracting workforce is also dramatically different than it was in years passed. For example, in the early 1980s, about 60 percent of the dollars that we spent on federal contracting went to purchase goods. Now, 60 percent of the dollars we spend on federal contracting goes to purchase services, so this means much of the federal contracting workforce are service workers, which has implications for the fact that many more women are service workers. About 58 percent of service workers are women, and there are many low-wage workers who are supported by these contracts.

How does the federal government affect workplace standards?

The federal government has a long role in affecting workplace standards. Let me give two examples. One is there's an executive order that was first started by FDR and then carried out by many presidents since that requires that the federal government does not discriminate on the basis of race or sex. SO, if you receive federal contracting dollars, you're prohibited from discriminating, and you also must provide affirmative action to ensure that women and people of color receive equal opportunity in the federal workforce. In addition to that, we also, though statute, have required that certain federal contractors provide prevailing wages and benefits, meaning that they have to provide wages that are at least as good as those being provided in the locality in which they work.

What does the federal government need to do to better tailor its employment laws to meet today's needs?

Today's workforce is much different than the workforce that was in place when these standard equity and these standard level of benefit laws were put in place. Today's workforce is many more women than ever before. In fact, nearly half the workforce is women, and in the service workforce, almost 58 percent are women. In addition to that, we have a much older workforce that we did before. So we need a standard level of benefits that recognize the different needs of today's workers. One of those benefits is family-friendly benefits--benefits such as paid sick days, paid family leave, job-protected leave so you don't get fired if you're pregnant or need to care-give for a child or an elderly relative. These are the types of policies that the federal government should promote and can promote through these existing laws.