Posts tagged proposed rule
Trump Is Making Major Concessions To Union Bosses. Is It Worth It?
August 15, 2025 // The Institute for the American Worker noted that union members who had funds embezzled by their leaders in recent years would now have less insight into how their dues were being spent. For example, in 2024, the Secretary-Treasurer of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 2198 pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $63,000; under the proposed rule, the group would no longer have to file an LM-2.
Trump Just Saved Thousands of Disabled Americans’ Jobs
August 5, 2025 // Disability-rights advocates have long insisted that, as a matter of public policy, disabled people’s lives should resemble those of nondisabled people to the greatest extent possible. They have argued, for example, that “segregated” environments, which primarily or exclusively serve disabled people, violate the principle of normalization and ought to be abolished. And for decades, they have called for the repeal of Section 14(c), a provision of the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 that allows certified employers to pay disabled workers a subminimum wage commensurate with their productivity. Congress created the 14(c) program to enable people with severe disabilities to remain in the job market after the passage of the federal minimum wage. The Biden administration published a proposed rule in 2024 that would have phased out the program, claiming that it was “no longer necessary to prevent curtailment of employment opportunities.” But last month, the Trump administration announced it was withdrawing the proposal. In doing so, it preserved the jobs of thousands of severely disabled Americans who would have lost one of the staples of a “normal” life.
Opinion Scherer: Government scrutiny of ‘gig workers’ Is misplaced
August 23, 2023 // The Labor Department published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the subject last year, but a final rule isn’t expected until October. Legal experts rightly criticized the proposed rule as an “ABC test in sheep’s clothing.” By this, they mean the rule seeks to mimic a 2018 California Supreme Court test known as the ABC Test, which made it more difficult for companies to hire workers as independent contractors. While it is impossible to know what Labor’s final rule will look like, final rules don’t typically differ significantly from proposed rules, making the prospect of an impartial final rule unlikely. This is terrible news for millions of American independent contractors who overwhelmingly like and support their working arrangements. For instance, a 2020 Morning Consult survey of independent contractors found that 71 percent believed “the freedom of being an independent contractor outweighs the benefits of being an employee.” A more recent 2022 study by MBO Partners found that 76 percent of independent contractors were “very satisfied with independent workers.” In addition, 84 percent said they were “happier” working independently, with 80 percent reporting that independent contracting was better for their health. These views are consistent with Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that “79 percent of independent contractors preferred their arrangement over a traditional job.”
Noncompete clauses ‘chill’ worker rights and are usually illegal, NLRB lawyer says
May 31, 2023 // General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, appointed by Biden in 2021, wrote that noncompete clauses — which generally prevent people from immediately moving to one of their employer's rivals — "tend to chill" workers' rights under federal law, specifically Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, which protects the ability to collectively organize and agitate for improved working conditions. A person barred from moving to another company in their chosen profession, at least for a set amount of time, is less likely to fight for change at their current employer, Abruzzo argued in the memo, issued Tuesday, knowing that could well make them a target for termination; employers likewise have little reason to fear that disgruntled workers will be snatched up by a competitor, thus reducing the latter's bargaining power.
Foxx to NLRB: Proposed Rule Puts Unions Before Employees
February 3, 2023 // “The NLRA is intended to protect the right of workers to organize or refrain from doing so in conditions free of interference, not to permit an employer to anoint a union as the employee representative. History and experience have shown that the secret ballot election is the most reliable method of assessing whether a majority of employees support union representation, while the card check process is notorious for its lack of privacy and invites intimidation and coercion of workers.”
Commentary: What’s Next for America’s Independent Workers?
December 15, 2022 // If various state and federal policymakers have their way, however, Ms. Rankin’s business model might be soon regulated out of existence — whether she likes it or not. Rankin, like every other owner‐operator truck driver in America, is an independent worker – someone who takes on projects or jobs from different clients, relatively free from the clients’ control.
NLRB move could squash workplace democracy
November 14, 2022 // If the blocking charge rule is eliminated, unions could block and delay decertification elections, helping existing unions remain in place against employees’ wishes. NLRB’s proposal will undergo a 60-day public comment period. Members of the public may submit comments here, in support of or against a proposed rule during the 60-day time frame. NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran,
Proposed Rule Makes It Easier for Unions to Carry On
November 9, 2022 // The big takeaway here is that the current NLRB is moving to protect union status among organized workforces," said David Pryzbylski, an attorney with Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis. "This rule would make it easier for unions to keep their umbrella over workers, even if the employees no longer wished to be represented by a union. It doesn't impact workers' ability to form unions." The NLRB "is picking up the pace on reversing Trump-era policies in favor of policies that are more friendly to labor organizations," said Christopher Durham, an attorney with Duane Morris in Philadelphia.
Taking the ‘Free’ Out of ‘Freelance’
November 3, 2022 // ...the Biden administration’s recent broadside against independent work, in the form of a new Department of Labor proposed rule for determining when a worker is properly classified as a contractor or an “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (and thus subject to minimum wage, overtime, and other labor regulations). The rule is complicated and still preliminary, but most experts agree on its objective and likely result: to make it more difficult for workers to be classified as independent and thus to force many of them to be reclassified as employees, whether they like it or not.
Biden’s Labor Department moves to raise taxes on the American workforce
November 1, 2022 // The Labor Department’s proposed rule would force Americans who don’t want a boss to have a boss. Under current law, independent contractors perform a task or execute a project and present the result to an individual or business for payment. Unlike traditional employees, independent contractors have the freedom to set their own schedules, determine their workload, and can put food on the table without needing a boss. Labor’s new proposed rule would force independent contractors to reclassify as W-2 employees if the worker is “economically dependent” on the entity that is paying him or her.