Companies that break labor laws won’t be able to get federal contracts under a new executive order from President Obama, and Republicans and business groups are outraged.

Under the rule, companies that want to bid on contracts will have to disclose to the government whether they ran afoul of laws covering workplace safety, workplace discrimination, labor organizing rights, or minimum wage and overtime during the previous three years. The necessary disclosures would include an official finding by a federal agency, a judgment from a court or an award from an arbitrator. [...] Officials noted that the new regulations cover only “the most egregious” violations. For instance, if an employer had been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, it would have to disclose a violation deemed “serious” or “willful,” but not the more common, run-of-the-mill violations that tend to pop up through inspections. The administration estimates that less than 10 percent of contractors will run into problems because of the provisions.

You break the government’s law, you can’t get the government’s business. That seems sensible enough. However,

[Business groups] vehemently opposed the regulation and lobbied to have it watered down or spiked. Along with Republicans in Congress, they have dubbed it the “blacklisting rule,” claiming it would add more red tape and unfairly prevent firms from securing federal contracts.

You break the law, the government blacklists you. You break the law, you don’t get federal contracts. The business lobby and Republican position here seems to be that companies should be able to break the law, as long as it’s laws victimizing workers, and face absolutely no consequences. It’s like laws to protect workers, whether from having their wages stolen or their limbs amputated, don’t count as laws to these people. Thanks to the president’s executive order, though, the laws will increasingly have teeth, at least for companies that want to do business with the government.