What you can expect from Congress
My politics were called into question recently by a reader of
National Clothesline. Obviously, he had not read all my columns.
National Clothesline. Obviously, he had not read all my columns.
I am certainly pro-business, but I can point to plenty of instances where
Republicans, supposedly the party favoring business, had taken an anti-business
stand. No one is blameless for the current climate in the workplace.
 | ||
First, there is $112 million set aside for E-Verify, the system that allows
employers to check to see if a job applicant or new hire is legally entitled to
work in the US. I suppose that is a positive development, though it means more
work in the hiring process.
Second, there is $104.5 billion set aside for the Department of Labor. Expect
wage and hour enforcements to increase.
Third, the budget provides for a $23 million increase for the EEOC, and a $20.8
million increase for the NLRB. The EEOC administers the anti-discrimination
laws; the NLRB regulates matters relating to unions.
There are numerous bills pending in Congress that would change the labor and
employment landscape. The most important one is the Employee Free Choice Act,
the card check bill, that would essentially eliminate secret ballot elections
on the question of unionization and provide for arbitration of first contracts
between labor and management. I have written about this bill before; it remains
to be seen if it will survive in its current form.
One alternative to the card check bill that has been introduced is the National
Labor Relations Modernization Act. Under this bill, unions would have equal
access to employees during election campaigns before secret ballot elections.
Employers would also have to notify labor organizations of any planned
activities to campaign against the labor organization. Back pay for unfair
labor practices would be doubled, that there would be time limits placed on
reaching a first collective bargaining agreement. This bill has a chance if
card check fails.
Also pending is the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would greatly change the Equal
Pay Act, which prevents sex discrimination in compensation. The changes would
provide for greater damages, including punitive damages.
In addition, the Paycheck Fairness Act would make it more difficult for
employers to justify salary differences between men and women. The differences
would have to be based more on job performance criteria.
There is a bill pending, the Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2009,
that would require employers with 25 employees to comply with the FMLA.
Currently, an employer must have 50 employees to be covered. It would also
expand the leave requirements to include participating in a child’s or grandchild’s educational or extracurricular activities or taking a child or elderly
relative to a medical appointment. Another bill would expand FMLA coverage to
part-time employees.
There is also a move afoot to provide for FMLA insurance benefits, similar to
unemployment insurance payments. Benefits would be paid out of an
employer-funded trust fund, and employers with equivalent or better benefits
could opt out of the trust fund. In other words, there would be mandated
benefits for FMLA leave.
In the safety and health arena, a bill has been introduced called the Protecting
America’s Workers Act. The act would amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act to
expand its coverage, mandate inspections whenever there is a serious injury or
fatality, and require OSHA to involve families in the negotiation of
settlements surrounding citations arising out of fatalities. The bill would
also make it a felony if an employee dies as a result of a willful violation;
the current law makes it a misdemeanor.
These are the bills most likely to pass this year. There are a couple, which I
have not reported, that would make it easier for businesses to comply with
federal employment laws. I have not reported them because they have no chance
of passage. I will let you guess the political affiliation of the sponsors.
