Regulation Watch

Welcome to I4AW’s Regulation Watch, an online resource for those working on federal labor policy who want keep track of labor regulations and NLRB cases in real time, monitor their status, and submit comments swiftly.

Regulation Watch also serves as a reference guide on current labor issues to get a quick understanding of nuanced topics to inform your labor research and public comments for submission.

Summary of Regulation Statuses

TOPIC

NOTICE

FEEDBACK OPEN

FEEDBACK CLOSED

FINAL DECISION

Employer Meetings on Unionization/Captive Audience Meetings – NLRB

Civil Service Reform

OSHA Representatives of Employers and Employees “Walkaround” Rule

Joint Employer- NLRB

DOL Overtime Rule

Independent Contracting- DOL

DOL ERISA Fiduciary Duty Rule (ESG)

Blocking Charges – NLRB

Independent Contracting- NLRB

Davis-Bacon DOL

NLRB Cemex Union Representation Procedures Framework

Ambush Elections-NLRB

REGULATIONS FOR FEEDBACK

TOPIC

NOTICE

COMMENT OPEN

COMMENT CLOSED

FINAL DECISION

Add comment (due 05/23/2025)

Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service - Office of Personnel Management

Summary: More than 2.4 million individuals serve as federal employees, excluding active-duty military and Postal Service workers. As the federal workforce has expanded, critics have increasingly raised concerns about the regulatory barriers that hinder efforts to hold employees accountable…

Filter

Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service - Office of Personnel Management

Summary: More than 2.4 million individuals serve as federal employees, excluding active-duty military and Postal Service workers. As the federal workforce has expanded, critics have increasingly raised concerns about the regulatory barriers that hinder efforts to hold employees accountable…

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Walkaround Rule - OSHA

Summary: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), is primarily responsible for setting and enforcing workplace safety standards first established through the Occupational Safety and Health Act of…

Joint Employer- NLRB

Standard for Determining Joint-Employer Status - National Labor Relations Board

*Updated on 11/13/23* Final Ruling: https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/board-issues-final-rule-on-joint-employer-status Summary: For decades the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) joint employer standard established that businesses are not joint employers unless they are found to exert direct…

DOL Overtime Rule

Wages and overtime hours - DOL

Final Rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/26/2024-08038/defining-and-delimiting-the-exemptions-for-executive-administrative-professional-outside-sales-and In carrying out the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for overseeing a variety of employment laws including matters surrounding wages and hours worked, including which workers under which…

Independent Contracting- DOL

Independent Contracting - Department of Labor

*Updated on 3/19/24* Final rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2024-00067/employee-or-independent-contractor-classification-under-the-fair-labor-standards-act Summary: Independent contracting has become a controversial issue as administrative agencies, Congress, and even states have been attempting to redefine who is an employee and who is an independent…

ERISA Fiduciary Duty Rule

ESG - Department of Labor

Summary: While there has long been a complicated and shifting network of laws and regulations governing private sector retirement plan investing, legal requirements have traditionally established that investors/fiduciaries have a fiduciary responsibility to retirement plan holders to focus on…

Blocking Charges- NLRB

Blocking Charges - NLRB

Summary: Over decades the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has enacted policy changes around union election and decertification procedures. On November 4, 2022, the Biden NLRB proposed a new rule, Representation-Case Procedures: Election Bars;…

Independent Contracting

Independent Contracting - NLRB

Summary: Independent contracting has become a controversial issue as administrative agencies, Congress, and even some states try to redefine who is an employee and who is an independent worker. By attempting to switch to an “ABC test” or other…

EMU/Captive Audience

EMU/Captive Audience Meetings - NLRB

Summary: For decades, federal law has granted and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has supported the ability of employers to hold meetings with employees on the topic of worker rights and decision making around union elections and membership.

Davis-Bacon DOL

Davis-Bacon - Department of Labor

UPDATE: Click here to read the final rule on Davis-Bacon. Summary: On March 18, 2022, the President Joe Biden’s Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a rule to change how Davis-Bacon prevailing wage…

NLRB- Cemex Decision

Cemex Decision/ Card check - NLRB

Summary: Much like Americans voting in elections for their president and other office holders, the use of a secret ballot for union elections is strongly supported by workers including in union households. Secret ballots have also long been…

Ambush Elections- NLRB

Union Elections - NLRB

Summary: For nearly a century, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has continually enacted policy changes around union organizing, election, and decertification procedures. On August 25, 2023, the Biden NLRB published a final rule, Representation-Case Procedures, which seeks…

Ambush Elections- NLRB

Union Elections - NLRB

Summary: For nearly a century, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has continually enacted policy changes around union organizing, election, and decertification procedures. On August 25, 2023, the Biden NLRB published a final rule, Representation-Case Procedures, which seeks…

NLRB- Cemex Decision

Cemex Decision/ Card check - NLRB

Summary: Much like Americans voting in elections for their president and other office holders, the use of a secret ballot for union elections is strongly supported by workers including in union households. Secret ballots have also long been…

Davis-Bacon DOL

Davis-Bacon - Department of Labor

UPDATE: Click here to read the final rule on Davis-Bacon. Summary: On March 18, 2022, the President Joe Biden’s Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a rule to change how Davis-Bacon prevailing wage…

EMU/Captive Audience

EMU/Captive Audience Meetings - NLRB

Summary: For decades, federal law has granted and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has supported the ability of employers to hold meetings with employees on the topic of worker rights and decision making around union elections and membership.

Independent Contracting

Independent Contracting - NLRB

Summary: Independent contracting has become a controversial issue as administrative agencies, Congress, and even some states try to redefine who is an employee and who is an independent worker. By attempting to switch to an “ABC test” or other…

Blocking Charges- NLRB

Blocking Charges - NLRB

Summary: Over decades the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has enacted policy changes around union election and decertification procedures. On November 4, 2022, the Biden NLRB proposed a new rule, Representation-Case Procedures: Election Bars;…

ERISA Fiduciary Duty Rule

ESG - Department of Labor

Summary: While there has long been a complicated and shifting network of laws and regulations governing private sector retirement plan investing, legal requirements have traditionally established that investors/fiduciaries have a fiduciary responsibility to retirement plan holders to focus on…

Independent Contracting- DOL

Independent Contracting - Department of Labor

*Updated on 3/19/24* Final rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2024-00067/employee-or-independent-contractor-classification-under-the-fair-labor-standards-act Summary: Independent contracting has become a controversial issue as administrative agencies, Congress, and even states have been attempting to redefine who is an employee and who is an independent…

DOL Overtime Rule

Wages and overtime hours - DOL

Final Rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/26/2024-08038/defining-and-delimiting-the-exemptions-for-executive-administrative-professional-outside-sales-and In carrying out the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for overseeing a variety of employment laws including matters surrounding wages and hours worked, including which workers under which…

Joint Employer- NLRB

Standard for Determining Joint-Employer Status - National Labor Relations Board

*Updated on 11/13/23* Final Ruling: https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/board-issues-final-rule-on-joint-employer-status Summary: For decades the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) joint employer standard established that businesses are not joint employers unless they are found to exert direct…

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Walkaround Rule - OSHA

Summary: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), is primarily responsible for setting and enforcing workplace safety standards first established through the Occupational Safety and Health Act of…

Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service - Office of Personnel Management

Summary: More than 2.4 million individuals serve as federal employees, excluding active-duty military and Postal Service workers. As the federal workforce has expanded, critics have increasingly raised concerns about the regulatory barriers that hinder efforts to hold employees accountable…