U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Fall
2014 Statement of Regulatory Priorities
Introduction
For over 100
years, the U.S. Department of Labor has been central to safeguarding and
expanding the American Dream for America's working families. The Department's
Fall 2014 Regulatory Agenda is driven by a commitment to the basic bargain of
America - if you work hard and play by the rules and take responsibility for
yourself and your family, you can succeed in and climb the rungs of the middle
class. There are many components to Secretary Thomas E. Perez's opportunity
agenda that are reflected in the Department's regulatory agenda:
training
more people, including veterans and people with disabilities, to have the
skills they need for the in-demand jobs of the 21st century;
ensuring
that people have the peace of mind that comes with access to health care,
retirement, and Federal workers' compensation benefits when they need them;
safeguarding
a fair day's pay for a fair day's work for all hardworking Americans, regardless
of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity;
giving
workers a voice in their workplaces; and
protecting
the safety and health of workers so they do not have to risk their lives for a
paycheck.
The values embodied in the
Department's regulatory agenda are America's values. In developing the
Department's regulatory agenda, with a focus on strengthening our economy, the
Department has sought input and expertise from a broad cross section of
American society, including business leaders, workers, labor organizations, academics
and state and local officials. Expanding opportunity benefits all of us. When
the middle class is strong, our nation is strong.
The Fall 2014
Regulatory Agenda reflects the Department's commitment to rebuilding this
strength through expanding opportunity.
The Department's Regulatory
Priorities
The
Department of Labor 2014 Regulatory Plan highlights the most noteworthy and
significant regulatory projects that will be undertaken by its regulatory
agencies: the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Employment and
Training Administration (ETA), Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA),
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA), Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS),
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP), Veterans' Employment Service
(VETS), and Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The initiatives and priorities listed
in the regulatory plan exemplify the five components of the Secretary's
opportunity agenda.
Training More People for
Twenty-First Century Jobs
The Department's
regulatory priorities reflect the Secretary's vision for a demand-driven
workforce investment system that serves the needs of businesses and workers
alike. For example:
ETA
seeks to develop and issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that
implements the important changes made to the public workforce system by the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (Pub. L. 113-128), which was signed by
the President on July 22, 2014, replacing the Workforce Investment Act of 1998
(WIA). This NPRM will help the Department implement WIOA, empowering the public
workforce system and its partners to increase employment, retention, and
earnings of participants, meet the skill requirements of employers, and enhance
the productivity and competitiveness of the nation.[1]
ETA
also proposes to update the National Apprenticeship Act of 1937's equal
opportunity regulations, which prohibit discrimination in registered
apprenticeship on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, and sex,
and which require that program sponsors take affirmative action to provide
equal opportunity. Most notably, the proposed rule would update equal
opportunity standards to include age (40 and older) and disability among the
list of protected bases. It would also strengthen the affirmative action
provisions by detailing mandatory actions that sponsors must take, and by
requiring affirmative action for individuals with disabilities.[2]
Ensuring Access to Health
Care, Retirement, and Workers' Compensation Benefits
The
Department is pursuing a regulatory program that is designed to safeguard the
retirement security of participants and beneficiaries by protecting their
rights and benefits under pension plans and by encouraging, fostering, and
promoting openness, transparency, and communication with respect to the
management and operations of such plans. Examples include:
EBSA's
rulemaking to help assure workers' retirement security by reducing harmful
conflicts of interest in the retirement savings marketplace so that the
millions of plan sponsors, workers, and retirees get the impartial advice they
have a right to expect when they rely on an adviser to help them invest their
retirement savings. The regulation would clarify the circumstances under
which a person will be considered a "fiduciary" when providing investment
advice related to retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, and other
employee benefit plans, and to participants, beneficiaries, and owners of such
plans and accounts.[3]
EBSA
continues to pursue initiatives to encourage the offering of lifetime annuities
or similar lifetime benefit distribution options for participants and
beneficiaries of defined contribution plans. EBSA is developing a proposal
relating to the presentation of a participant's accrued benefits (account
balance) as a lifetime income stream of payments.[4]
EBSA is also developing proposed amendments to a safe harbor regulation that
will provide plan fiduciaries with more certainty that they have discharged
their obligations under section 404(a)(1)(B) of ERISA in selecting an annuity
plan provider and contract for benefit distributions from an individual account
retirement plan.[5]
EBSA's regulatory program
also includes initiatives involving Annual Funding Notices[6]
and Standards for Brokerage Windows.[7]
In
addition, EBSA will continue to issue guidance implementing the health reform
provisions of the Affordable Care Act to help provide better quality health
care for America's workers and their families. EBSA's regulations reduce
discrimination in health coverage, promote better access to quality coverage,
and protect the ability of individuals and businesses to keep their current
health coverage. Many regulations are joint rulemakings with the Departments of
Health and Human Services and the Treasury.
The
Department also pursues regulations to ensure that Federal workers'
compensation benefits programs are fairly administered:
OWCP
plans to propose several modifications and clarifications to the regulations
implementing the Black Lung Benefits Act, including a rule that addresses
claimants' and coal mine operators' responsibility to disclose medical evidence
developed in connection with a claim for benefits. In addition, the proposed
regulation would make several clarifications regarding reimbursement rates for
medical treatment, the modification procedure, evidence-submission limits, and
compensation payments.[8]
Safeguarding Fair Pay for All
Americans
The
Department's regulatory agenda prioritizes ensuring that all Americans receive a
fair day's pay for a fair day's work, and are not discriminated against with
respect to hiring, employment, or benefits on the basis of race, gender, sexual
orientation, or gender identity. For example, WHD recently published a Final
Rule to implement Executive Order 13658, which the President signed in February
2014 to ensure that certain Federal contractors pay a minimum wage of at least
$10.10 per hour beginning on January 1, 2015. Other notable proposals include:
WHD
plans to publish an NPRM proposing revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act's
(FLSA's) overtime exemptions as directed by a March 2014 Presidential
Memorandum. The FLSA generally requires covered employers to pay their
employees at least the Federal minimum wage for all hours worked, and one-and-one-half
times their regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek
("overtime"). However, there are a number of exemptions from the FLSA's
minimum wage and overtime requirements, including an exemption for bona fide
executive, administrative, or professional employees. The President's
Memorandum directed the Secretary to modernize and streamline the existing
overtime regulations for these "white collar" employees to ensure that hardworking
middle-class workers are not denied overtime protections that Congress
intended.[9]
WHD
also plans to publish a Final Rule revising the definition of "spouse" in the
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in light of the United States Supreme
Court's decision in United States v. Windsor. This Department previously
issued an NPRM proposing that eligible employees in legal same-sex marriages may
take unpaid, job-protected leave to care for their spouse or family member,
regardless of whether their state of residence recognizes their same-sex
marriage.[10]
OFCCP's
rulemaking implementing Executive Order 13672, signed by the President in July
2014 to amend Executive Order 11246, ensures that Federal contractors do not engage
in hiring or employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender
identity. The Executive Order required the Department to prepare regulations
within 90 days of the date of the Order to insert "sexual orientation, gender
identity" into identified paragraphs of section 2 of Executive Order 11246.[11]
OFCCP
plans to issue a Final Rule pursuant to a Presidential Memorandum directing the
Department to require Federal contractors and subcontractors to submit summary
data on the compensation paid to their employees. The use of this sort of
"Equal Pay Report" is one component of a larger strategy to address the reality
that, despite five decades of extraordinary legal and social progress, working
women still earn only 78 cents for every dollar that working men earn, and the
amount is even less for African American women and Latinas. The new rule will
enable OFCCP to direct its enforcement resources toward Federal contractors
whose summary data indicate potential pay disparities, while reducing the likelihood
of reviewing companies that are in compliance with anti-discrimination laws.[12]
OFCCP also continues to
pursue an initiative on Construction Contractor Affirmative Action
Requirements.[13]
Giving Workers a Voice in
Their Workplaces
The
Department's regulatory program also promotes policies that give workers a
voice in their workplaces, including by ensuring that workers have information
that is critical to their effective participation in the workplace. Two key
examples include:
OFCCP
plans to issue a Final Rule implementing Executive Order 13665, which the
President signed on April 8, 2014, prohibiting discrimination by Federal contractors
and subcontractors against certain of their employees for disclosing
compensation information. This Executive Order was intended to address policies
inhibiting workers' ability to advocate for themselves about their pay and
prohibiting employee conversations about compensation. Such policies can serve
as a significant barrier to Federal enforcement of the laws against
compensation discrimination.[14]
OLMS
plans to publish a Final Rule following an NPRM that proposed regulations to better
implement the public disclosure objectives of the Labor-Management Reporting
and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) in situations where an employer engages a consultant
in order to persuade employees concerning their rights to organize and bargain
collectively. Workers are better able to make an informed choice about
representation when they have the necessary information about arrangements that
have been made by their employer to persuade them whether or not to form, join,
or assist a union. While the LMRDA requires employers to file reports of any
agreement or arrangement with a consultant to persuade employees concerning
their rights to organize and collectively bargain, the statute provides an exception
for consultants giving or agreeing to give "advice" to the employer. The
Department's NPRM reconsidered the current policy concerning the scope of the
"advice" exception.[15]
Protecting the Safety and
Health of Workers
The Department's
regulatory agenda prioritizes efforts to protect the safety and health of
workers so they do not have to risk their lives for a paycheck. These efforts
encompass protecting workers in all workplaces, including above- and
below-ground coal and metal/nonmetal mines, in addition to efforts to ensure
that benefits programs are available to workers and their families when they
are injured on the job. Notable examples of these efforts include:
OSHA
continues to pursue regulations aimed at curbing lung cancer, silicosis,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease in America's workers
by lowering worker exposure to crystalline silica, which kills hundreds and
sickens thousands more each year. OSHA estimates that the proposed rule would
ultimately save nearly 700 lives and prevent 1,600 new cases of silicosis
annually. After publishing a proposed rule in September 2013, OSHA received
over 1,700 comments from the public on the proposed rule, and over 200 stakeholders
provided testimony during public hearings on the proposal. In the coming
months, the agency will review and consider the evidence in the rulemaking
record. Based upon this review, OSHA will determine an appropriate course of
action with regard to workplace exposure to respirable crystalline silica.[16]
As a part of the Secretary's strategy for securing safe and healthy work
environments, MSHA will utilize information provided by OSHA to undertake
regulatory action related to silica exposure in mines.[17]
OSHA
is considering the need for regulatory action to address the risk to workers
exposed to infectious diseases in healthcare and other related high-risk
environments. Especially given recent events necessitating the careful treatment
of individuals with life-threatening infectious diseases, OSHA is concerned
about the risk posed to healthcare workers with the movement of healthcare
delivery from the traditional hospital setting into more diverse and smaller
workplace settings. The Agency initiated the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) Panel process in the spring of 2014.[18]
OSHA
is developing a Final Rule exploring a requirement for employers to
electronically submit data required by agency regulations governing the
Recording and Reporting of Occupational Injuries. An updated and modernized
reporting system would enable a more efficient and timely collection of data
and would improve the accuracy and availability of relevant records and
statistics, in addition to leveraging data already maintained electronically by
many large employers.[19]
MSHA
plans to issue a Final Rule that would build upon a proposed rule to address
the danger that miners face when working near continuous mining machines in
underground coal mines. From 1984 through 2014, there have been 35 fatalities
resulting from pinning, crushing or striking accidents involving continuous
mining machines - the types of accidents that proximity detection technology
can prevent. The proposed rule would reduce the potential for such hazards.[20]
MSHA also plans to publish a proposed rule that would require underground mine
operators to equip certain mobile machines with proximity detection systems.[21]
OSHA's regulatory program
also includes initiatives involving Injury and Illness Prevention Programs,[22]
Occupational Exposure to Beryllium,[23]
Preventing Backover Injuries and Fatalities,[24]
and various Whistleblower regulations.
Regulatory
Review and Burden Reduction
On January 18, 2011, the President issued Executive
Order (E.O.) 13563 entitled "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review." The
E.O. aims to strike the right balance between protecting the health, welfare,
safety, and the environment for all Americans - a goal at the core of the Labor
Department's mission - while fostering economic growth, job creation, and
competitiveness. The Department's Fall 2014 Regulatory Agenda
also aims to achieve more efficient and less burdensome regulations through
a retrospective review of the Labor Department regulations.
In
August 2011, as part of a governmentwide response to E.O. 13563, the Department
published its "Plan for Retrospective Analysis of Existing Rules." This
plan, and each subsequent update, can be found at www.dol.gov/regulations/.
The Department's Fall 2014 Agenda includes 12 retrospective
review projects, which are listed below pursuant to section 6 of E.O. 13563.
More information about completed rulemakings no longer included in the plan can
be found on Reginfo.gov.
Agency
|
Regulatory
Identifier Number
|
Title of
Rulemaking
|
Whether it is
Expected to Significantly Reduce Burdens on Small Businesses
|
EBSA
|
1210-AB47
|
Amendment
of Abandoned Plan Program
|
Yes
|
EBSA
|
1210-AB63
|
21st
Century Initiative to Modernize the Form 5500 Series and Implementing and
Related Regulations
|
No
|
ETA
|
1205-AB59
|
Equal
Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship and Training, Amendment of
Regulations
|
To Be Determined
|
ETA
|
1205-AB62
|
Implementation
of Total Unemployment Rate Extended Benefits Trigger and Rounding Rule
|
No
|
MSHA
|
1219-AB72
|
Criteria
and Procedures for Proposed Assessment of Civil Penalties (Part 100)
|
To Be Determined
|
OFCCP
|
1250-AA05
|
Sex
Discrimination Guidelines
|
To Be Determined
|
OSHA
|
1218-AC34
|
Bloodborne
Pathogens
|
No
|
OSHA
|
1218-AC67
|
Standard
Improvement Project - Phase IV (SIP IV)
|
Yes
|
OSHA
|
1218-AC74
|
Review/Lookback
of OSHA Chemical Standards
|
To Be Determined
|
OSHA
|
1218-AC81
|
Cranes
and Derricks in Construction: Amendments
|
To Be Determined
|
OSHA
|
1218-AC82
|
Process
Safety Management and Flammable Liquids
|
To Be Determined
|
OSHA
|
1218-AC49
|
Improve
Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
|
To Be Determined
|
[1] Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act (RIN: 1205-AB73)
[2] Equal Employment
Opportunity in Apprenticeship Amendment of Regulations (RIN: 1205-AB59)
[3] Conflict of Interest
Rule: Investment Advice (RIN: 1210-AB32)
[4] Pension Benefit
Statement (RIN 1210-AB20)
[5] Selection of Annuity
Providers - Safe Harbor for Individual Account Plans (RIN: 1201-AB58)
[6] (RIN: 1210-AB18)
[7] (RIN: 1210-AB59)
[8] Black Lung Benefits
Act: Medical Evidence and Benefit Payments (RIN: 1240-AA10)
[9] Defining and
Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside
Sales, and Computer Employees (RIN: 1235-AA11)
[10] Family and Medical
Leave Act of 1993, as amended (RIN: 1235-AA09)
[11] Implementation of
Executive Order 13672 Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation
and Gender Identity by Contractors and Subcontractors (RIN: 1250-AA07)
[12] Requirement to Report
Summary Data on Employee Compensation (RIN: 1250-AA03)
[13] (RIN: 1250-AA01)
[14] Prohibitions Against
Pay Secrecy Policies and Actions (RIN: 1250-AA06)
[15] Persuader Agreements:
Employer and Labor Relations Consultant Reporting Under the LMRDA (RIN:
1245-AA03)
[16] Occupational Exposure
to Crystalline Silica (RIN: 1218-AB70)
[17] Respirable
Crystalline Silica Standard (RIN: 1219-AB36)
[18] Infectious Diseases
(RIN: 1218-AC46)
[19] Improve Tracking of
Workplace Injuries and Illnesses (RIN: 1218-AC49)
[20] Proximity Detection
Systems for Continuous Mining Machines in Underground Coal Mines (RIN:
1219-AB65)
[21] Proximity Detection
Systems for Mobile Machines in Underground Mines (RIN: 1219-AB78)
[22] (RIN: 1218-AC48)
[23] (RIN: 1218-AB76)
[24] (RIN: 1218-AC51)