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Federal agencies to be active this year on labor and employment issues, report finds

February 08, 2016

This year will see a rush of activity among the federal agencies that regulate labor and employment issues, most notably the Labor Department and the EEOC, according to the 2016 outlook on labor and employment law released by Bloomberg BNA. However, the report does not anticipate much movement in Congress due to election year politics. 

Senior government officials, including Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez and EEOC Chair Jenny Yang, along with industry observers and insiders, weighed in on the key issues in Congress, the courts and federal agencies.

Highlights of the report include:

  • The Labor Department will be rushing to finalize a number of key regulations in the last year of the Obama administration, including a controversial final rule to dramatically increase workers' access to overtime pay. Labor Secretary Perez told Bloomberg BNA that the agency will bolster ongoing support of worker-friendly state and local laws and voluntary employer initiatives, including those that raise the minimum wage and provide paid leave and flexible scheduling.
  • The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will continue to seek solutions to persistent forms of discrimination while addressing new challenges emerging from the changing workplace. Two issues to watch are employers' use of online screening tools in hiring and the increased use of temporary workers, which is growing at seven times the rate of the permanent workforce owing in part to the shared economy.
  • The National Labor Relations Board will be busy defending 2015's regulatory action and decisions in a number of high-profile cases. This year, key questions are how successfully the board can defend its sometimes controversial positions and how it will interpret the rights of employees, unions and employees under the National Labor Relations Act.
  • Congress is caught up in an election year, which leaves little opportunity for bipartisan lawmaking. Industry insiders are watching Republican efforts to slow down and stop some high-priority Obama administration labor initiatives, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the move to expand overtime pay and broaden disclosure requirements for union opposition activities.
  • The US Supreme Court's current term includes 10 pending labor and employment cases, including a First Amendment challenge to public employee agency fee arrangements that is drawing the most attention. In Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, unions could potentially lose their ability to effectively represent certain groups of public employees.
  • Federal employees may get a reprieve from congressional attacks on their pay and benefits as lawmakers prepare for an election year. At the same time, the Obama administration may seek changes to federal operations and workforce management as it sets the stage for the next president and the new Congress.