News

January 08, 2025

FAR Council Withdraws Proposed Pay Transparency Rule

On January 8, 2025, four federal agencies (DoD, GSA, NASA, and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy) published notice in the Federal Register that they were withdrawing the proposed rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) titled: Pay Equity and Transparency in Federal Contracting.

This preliminary rule proposed to “(1) prohibit contractors and subcontractors from seeking and considering information about job applicants’ compensation history when making employment decisions about personnel working on or in connection with a Government contract; and (2) require contractors and subcontractors to disclose, in all advertisements for job openings involving work on or in connection with a Government contract placed by or on behalf of the contractor or subcontractor, the compensation to be offered to the hired applicant, for any position to perform work on or in connection with the contract.”

While that proposal is withdrawn, ensure you are still complying with any state or local laws that have similar requirements. As of this writing at least 14 states, the District of Columbia, and several local jurisdictions have a related that is in effect or scheduled to take effect in 2025.