U.S. Department of Labor

Fall 2016 Statement of Regulatory Priorities

Introduction

The Department's Fall 2016 Regulatory Agenda continues to advance the Department's mission to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of wage earners, job seekers, and retirees; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights. These rules will provide greater opportunity for workers to acquire the skills they need to succeed, to earn a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, for veterans to thrive in the civilian economy, for workers to retire with dignity, for workers and employers to compete on a level playing field, and for people to work in a safe environment with the full protection of our anti-discrimination laws.

Since the beginning of the Obama Administration, the Department of Labor has completed historic rulemakings on issues that are central to America's workers and their families: worker safety, wages, and retirement security.

We finalized regulations to limit worker exposure to deadly silica dust that can lead to lung cancer, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease, providing important new protections to 2.3 million workers and preventing hundreds of deaths each year.

We finalized updates to our overtime regulations to ensure that middle class jobs pay middle class wages, extending important overtime pay protections to over 4.2 million workers and raising their pay by an estimated $12 billion in the next 10 years.

We issued final regulations that will enable employees of Federal contractors to earn seven days of paid sick and safe leave per year, for the first time guaranteeing these workers have paid leave to care for themselves, family members, or loved ones, without fear of losing their paychecks or their jobs.

We finalized our Conflict of Interest Rule, establishing a fundamental principle of consumer protection in the American retirement marketplace -- that retirement advisors must put their clients' interests before their own profits.

Along with the Department of Education, we finalized regulations to implement the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act -- the most significant legislative reform to the public workforce system in nearly 20 years -- that will expand workers' opportunities to develop the skills they need and provide employers with the skilled workforce they need to succeed in the 21^st century economy.

We finalized new regulations that establish equity and transparency in employer/consultant reporting requirements when employers engage consultants to persuade employees on their rights to organize and bargain collectively.

Working with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, we finalized regulations and guidance implementing the President's Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, holding Federal contractors accountable when they put workers' safety, hard-earned wages and basic workplace rights at risk. The rule ensures that taxpayer dollars do not reward companies that break the law and that contractors who meet their legal responsibilities do not have to compete with those who do not.

We updated sex discrimination regulations for Federal contractors for the first time in 40 years, to reflect the current state of the law and the reality of a modern and diverse workforce. Updated rules on workplace sex discrimination will mean clarity for Federal contractors and subcontractors and equal opportunities for both men and women applying for jobs with, or already working for, these employers.

We will update and simplify the equal opportunity regulations implementing the National Apprenticeship Act to help employers and other apprenticeship sponsors attract a larger and more diverse applicant pool and provide greater opportunities to women, people of color, and other individuals regardless of disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity, to take part in Registered Apprenticeship programs. And, we finalized regulations clarifying how states can establish retirement savings arrangements to automatically enroll employees, and offer coverage that is consistent with Federal laws governing employee benefit plans.

The 2016 Regulatory Plan highlights the Labor Department's most noteworthy and significant rulemaking efforts, with each addressing the top priorities of its regulatory agencies: 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 Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP), and Wage and Hour Division (WHD). These regulatory priorities exemplify the five components of the Secretary's opportunity 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 individuals 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, disability, national origin, veteran's status, 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.

Under Secretary Perez's leadership, the Department continues its commitment to ensuring that collaboration, consensus-building, strong foundation of evidence, and extensive stakeholder outreach, are integral to all of our regulatory efforts. Successful rulemaking requires that we build a big table and keep an open mind.

Training More Workers and Job-Seekers for 21st Century Jobs

The Department continues to implement the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the first major reform to Federal job training programs in almost 20 years, building new partnerships, engaging employers, emphasizing proven strategies like apprenticeship and preparing people for the demands of the 21st century economy. The Department's regulatory priorities reflect the Secretary's vision for a modern job-driven workforce system that helps businesses stay on the competitive cutting edge and helps workers punch their ticket to the middle class.

The Department's Civil Rights Center (CRC) will issue a final rule to implement the nondiscrimination provisions in section 188 of WIOA. The rule will update nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions to be consistent with current law and address its application to current workforce development and workplace practices and issues. To ensure no gap in coverage between the effective date of WIOA and this rulemaking, CRC issued a final rule that makes only technical revisions to the WIA section 188 rule, changing references from "WIA" to "WIOA."[1] The current final rule ultimately will be superseded by the final rule arising from the earlier NPRM.

To further meet the demands of the 21st century workforce, the Department will also explore options to modernize and provide flexibilities to employers and workers, without sacrificing important worker protections in the permanent labor certification program.

The permanent labor certification requirements and process have not been comprehensively examined or modified since 2004. ETA proposes to consider options to modernize the PERM program to be more responsive to changes in the national workforce in order to further align the program design with the objectives of the U.S. Immigration system, and needs of workers and employers, and to enhance the integrity of the labor certification process.[2]

ETA also proposes to engage the public on whether the Schedule A of the permanent labor certification process serves as an effective tool for addressing current labor shortages, and how the Department may create a timely, coherent, and transparent methodology for identifying occupations that are experiencing labor shortages.[3]

Ensuring Access to Health Care, Retirement, and Workers' Compensation Benefits

Workplace benefits ensure that workers have the opportunity to remain in the middle class if they face a health and welfare challenge, retire from their jobs, or experience a workplace accident or illness. In addition, a financially secure retirement is a fundamental pillar of the middle class. The Department has a regulatory program designed to improve health benefits and retirement security for all workers.

EBSA plans to finalize regulations that describe how political subdivisions (e.g. cities and counties) may design and operate payroll deduction savings programs, using automatic enrollment, for private-sector employees without causing the political subdivisions or private-sector employers to establish employee pension benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.[4]

EBSA plans to finalize regulations that strengthen, improve and update the current disability benefit claims and appeals process under section 503 of ERISA.[5]

EBSA will also continue to issue guidance implementing the health coverage provisions of Parts 6 and 7 of ERISA, including the provisions of COBRA, HIPAA, GINA, mental health parity, the Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act, the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act, and the Affordable Care Act group market protections. Much of this guidance involves joint work with the Departments of Health and Human Services and Treasury.

The Department also promulgates regulations to ensure that Federal workers' compensation benefits programs are fairly administered:

OWCP will issue an NPRM under the Black Lung Benefits Act to address how medical providers are reimbursed for covered services rendered to coal miners totally disabled by pneumoconiosis, including the possibility of modernizing and standardizing payment methodologies and fee schedules.[6]

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, religion, disability, national origin, veteran's status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The Department continues to take a robust approach to implementing its wage-and-hour and nondiscrimination regulations through education, outreach and strategic enforcement across industries. The regulations in this area are grounded in a commitment to an inclusive and diverse workforce and rewarding hard work with a fair wage to provide workers with a real pathway to middle class jobs.

WHD will propose revisions to its regulations implementing section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act to reflect the changes in employment laws affecting workers with disabilities.[7]

Protecting the Safety and Health of Workers

The Department's safety and health regulatory proposals are based on the responsibility of employers to provide workers with workplaces that do not threaten their safety or health. We reject the false choice between worker safety and economic growth. Through our rulemakings, we are committed to protecting workers in all kinds of workplaces, including above- and below-ground coal and metal/nonmetal mines. So many workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities are preventable. They not only put workers in harm's way, they jeopardize their economic security, often forcing families out of the middle class and into poverty. Our efforts are to prevent workers from having to choose between their lives and their livelihood.

MSHA will build on the knowledge gained through the OSHA silica rulemaking process to develop regulations that would provide essential protections to miners from silica exposure in mines.[8]

OSHA is developing an NPRM that will look at how to provide stronger protections for workers exposed to infectious diseases in healthcare and other related high risk environments.[9]

OSHA will finalize regulations that address occupational exposure to beryllium in the workplace.[10]

Building upon its history of addressing workplace violence in health care facilities, OSHA will solicit information from health care employers, workers and other experts on preventing workplace violence in the workplace. The request for information will seek public input on the impacts of violence, prevention strategies, and other information that will be useful to OSHA.[11]

After more than 25 years, OSHA will update and finalize regulations that address slip, trip and fall hazards and establish requirements for personal fall protection systems. Slips, trips and falls are among the leading causes or work-related injuries and fatalities.[12]

Regulatory Review and Burden Reduction

On January 18, 2011, the President issued Executive Order (E.O.) 13563, entitled "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review." The Department is committed to smart regulations that ensure the health, welfare and safety of all working Americans and foster economic growth, job creation, and competitiveness of American business. The Department's Fall 2016 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 government-wide response to the E.O., 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 current regulatory agenda includes 14 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 www.reginfo.gov.

Agency	Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN)	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	To Be Determined
ETA	1205-AB59	Equal Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship and Training, Amendment of Regulations	To Be Determined
ETA	1205-AB75	Modernizing the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM)	To Be Determined
OSHA	1218-AC34	Bloodborne Pathogens	To Be Determined
OSHA	1218-AC67	Standard Improvement Project - Phase IV (SIP IV)	To Be Determined
OSHA	1218-AC74	Chemical Management and Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs)	To Be Determined
OSHA	1218-AC81	Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Amendments	Yes
OSHA	1218-AC82	Process Safety Management and Flammable Liquids	To Be Determined
OSHA	1218-AD01	Revocation of Obsolete PELs	To Be Determined
OSHA	1218-AC99	Powered Industrial Trucks	To Be Determined
OSHA	1218-AC98	Mechanical Power Presses Update	To Be Determined
OSHA	1218-AD00	Lock-Out/Tag-Out Update	To Be Determined
OSHA	1218-AD12	Technical Correction to 16 OSHA Standards	To Be Determined
OWCP	1240-AA11	Black Lung Benefits Act: Medical Benefit Payments	To Be Determined
WHD	1235-AA17	Updating Regulations Issued Under Various Wage and Hour Division Statutes Consistent with Rosa's Law	To be Determined
WHD	1235-AA18	Technical Updates to Regulations Issued Under Various Wage and Hour Division Statutes	To Be Determined

[1] Implementation of the Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity Provisions of the Workforce Innovation Act of 2014 (RIN: 1291-A37).

[2] Modernizing the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM) (RIN: 1205-AB76).

[3] Labor Certification for Permanent Employment of Foreign Workers in the United States; Revising Schedule A (RIN: 1205-AB77).

[4] Savings Arrangements Established by Political Subdivisions for Non-Governmental Employees (RIN: 1210-AB76).

[5] Amendment to Claims Procedure Regulation (RIN: 1210-AB39).

[6] Black Lung Benefits Act: Benefit Payments (RIN: 1240-AA11).

[7] Employment of Workers with Disabilities under Special Certificates (RIN: 1235-AA14).

[8] Respirable Crystalline Silica (RIN: 1219-AB36).

[9] Infectious Diseases (RIN: 1218-AC46).

[10] Occupational Exposure to Beryllium (RIN: 1218-AB76).

[11] Preventing Violence in Healthcare (RIN: 1218-AD08).

[12] Walking Working Surfaces and Personal Fall Protection Systems (Slips, Trips, and Fall Prevention) (RIN: 1218-AA11).