Wiley Rein Attorneys Weigh in on Obama Human Trafficking Order

W. Barron A. Avery, an associate in Wiley Rein’s Government Contracts Practice, and Rand L. Allen, the chair of the firm’s Government Contracts Practice, were interviewed for a December 31 Bloomberg BNA article about the impact of an executive order issued last year by President Obama cracking down on human trafficking.

On September 25, 2012, Obama announced the order to exact more concrete measures than were previously implemented to ensure contractors and subcontractors are not engaging in trafficking-related activities. The measure is meant, in part, to force contractors to monitor more closely the activity of subcontractors and the conditions under which their employees are working. Final details of how the order will be implemented have yet to be announced, but attorneys and companies are already looking ahead.

In the article, Mr. Avery appreciates the sentiment of Obama’s action but warns the new onus placed on contractors will be “burdensome.” “Companies must deal with a whole new set of issues,” he said. Mr. Allen, a partner at Wiley Rein, agreed there will be more work for companies but said that comes with the territory. “That is the nature of the beast,” Mr. Allen said.