Trump order prohibits federal contracts from displacing American workers

On August 3, 2020, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) barring federal agencies from displacing U.S. citizens or green card holders to fill the positions with foreign workers. The action followed the Tennessee Valley Authority’s announcement it was going to lay off 62 American workers and outsource their tasks to foreign workers.

What Trump’s EO says

Specifically, the EO directs the head of each executive department and agency to review the performance of contracts awarded in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 to assess and report on the next 120 days:

• Whether the contractors or subcontractors used temporary foreign labor for any contracts performed in the United States and whether “opportunities for [U.S.] workers were affected by such hiring and any potential effects on national security caused by such hiring”; and
• Whether contractors or subcontractors performed in foreign countries any services previously conducted in the United States and whether any opportunities for U.S. workers were affected by the offshoring.

The EO also directs the secretaries of labor and homeland security to take action in the next 45 days to protect U.S. workers from any adverse effects on wages and working conditions caused by the employment of H-1B visa holders at job sites. The two agency leaders also must ensure all employers of H-1B visa holders comply with the wage and other requirements for the visa.