The Department of Labor (DOL) has released its semiannual regulatory agenda (pdf), which lists all of the regulations the agency expects to have under active consideration for promulgation, proposal, or review during the coming one-year period. The DOL also published its Fall 2009 Regulatory Plan (pdf), a subset of the agenda, which details the agency’s regulatory priorities and actions deemed most important and significant. In video remarks posted on the DOL’s website, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis stated that the agency is proposing 90 rules to the 2010 regulatory agenda, and outlined the following highlights:

• The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) plans to update the recordkeeping requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to require employers to, among other things, disclose to employees each pay period how many hours were worked, how much pay was computed, whether proper wages and overtime were included for hours worked, and what deductions were made. Solis noted that the proposed regulations would “increase transparency” to enhance a worker’s awareness of their entitlement to minimum wage and overtime pay each time they receive their paychecks.
• With respect to Americans and foreign nationals working temporarily in the U.S., the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) plans to amend the H2-B worker regulations to clarify an employer’s need for temporary foreign national workers, and ensure that citizen workers are fully considered before resorting to foreign labor.
• The DOL believes that the scope of section 203(c) of Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) – which provides, in part, that employer and consultant reporting is not required with respect to any agreement or arrangement to provide “advice” to the employer – is too broad and excludes information that should be reported. The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) seeks to narrow this advice reporting exemption to “better allow for the employer and consultant reporting intended by the LMRDA” and to “provide workers with information critical to their effective participation in the workplace.”
• The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will seek comments for a proposal to strengthen affirmative action requirements to increase job opportunities for veterans and the disabled.
• In the wake of the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will seek information on its proposed standard for airborne infectious diseases, and whether current infection control procedures are adequate to protect workers.
• The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will publish a rule to decrease coal miners’ exposure to coal mine dust and reduce the instances of black lung disease.
• The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) plans to work with the Treasury Department to determine the best way to enhance an employee’s retirement security and facilitate access to lifetime income streams after retirement, and to encourage employers to offer their employees retirement annuities. A fact sheet on this regulatory effort can be found here.

The DOL notes that the agency’s regulations currently open for public comment include Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States, Interim Final Rule; Request for Information Regarding Sections 101 Through 104 of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008; Hazard Communication, Proposed Rule; and Respirable Coal Mine Dust: Continuous Personal Dust Monitor (CPDM), Request for Information.

Three rules that are slated for periodic review under Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act to determine whether they should be continued without change, amended, or rescinded to minimize its impact on small entities, are OSHA’s rules governing Methylene Chloride and Bloodborne Pathogens, and the EBSA’s Plan Assets-Participant Contributions Regulation.

On December 7, 8 and 9 the DOL’s website will conduct chats hosted by the heads of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Office of Labor-Management Standards, the Wage and Hour Division, the Employment and Training Administration, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the Employee Benefits Security Administration. The public may submit questions to these chats via e-mail to Webmaster@dol.gov.

This entry was written by Ilyse Schuman.