On April 7, 2016, Pa. Governor Tom Wolf signed a new Executive Order establishing that future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania contracts must ensure that contractors doing business with the state will not discriminate in the award of subcontracts or supply contracts, or in hiring, promotion, or other labor matters, on the basis of sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. The Executive Order also mandates that contractors receiving state funds must have, as a condition of payment, a written sexual harassment policy and that employees of the contractor are aware of the policy.
The Executive Order provides:
…this Administration believes the contracting processes of Commonwealth agencies should be nondiscriminatory and that all businesses contracting with the Commonwealth … should use nondiscriminatory practices in subcontracting, hiring, promoting, and other labor matters.
The Executive Order can be found here.
This means that state contractors will need to become compliant and put into place a formal sexual harassment policy. For contractors needing further advice on compliance with this Executive Order, please feel free to call or email me.
Christopher I. McCabe, Esq.
